WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live lake level, flow, historical records and forecast for Lake Marion near Elloree in SC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Lake Marion sits in the Lake Marion watershed in South Carolina.
May is the usual high point here, with a typical level of 75.48 ft (23.01 m). December is the usual low point, with a typical level of 74.14 ft (22.6 m). That seasonal swing is 16 in (40.7 cm), so docks, lifts, and shallow access points need to handle a modest but regular change through the year.
The regional pattern fits a rain-fed coastal plain setting: winter-spring rains do most of the lifting, while the warm season tends toward lower water. In practice, that means the lake can spend long stretches near its lower seasonal range, then move quickly when rain arrives.
The record high on this station is 76.98 ft (23.46 m) in January 2016. The record low is 66.76 ft (20.35 m) in December 2007.
Those are the outer edges of the station history, and they matter because they frame what a shoreline, dock, or intake may eventually see. The highest month on the seasonal record is still well below the station high, while the lowest month sits far above the station low.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts for this station, so I will not invent one.
This page’s hero number is the current reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is better than raw elevation because Lake Marion is a lake, and a single height only tells you so much without the seasonal context. A reading that is above or below the day’s median shows whether the lake is running unusually high or low for this date.
The station is USGS, and the record spans more than 28 years.
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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