Lewis and Clark Lake at Springfield Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Lewis and Clark Lake at Springfield in SD, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location SD, United States
- Watershed lewis and clark lake
- Primary gauge 06466700 (USGS)
About Lewis and Clark Lake at Springfield
Lewis and Clark Lake is a gauged lake in the Lewis and Clark Lake watershed, South Dakota.
The watershed
This gauge sits on a lake with 46 years of record behind it. That matters because a single reading is only a snapshot; the longer record shows the range people have actually had to live with.
For this reach, the seasonal pattern is modest but real. March is the typical low month at 7.26 ft (2.21 m), while October is the typical high month at 9.01 ft (2.75 m). The usual annual swing is 20.9 in (53.2 cm). For shore users, that means docks, ramps, and intakes need to work across a noticeable but not wild change in level.
The extremes show the bounds of the station’s memory. The record high is 16.33 ft (4.98 m) in March 2019, and the record low is 5.26 ft (1.6 m) in March 1990. Both are useful markers: one tells you how high the water has reached here, the other how low it has fallen.
What the numbers say
Prairie hydrology usually comes in sharp steps in spring, then longer recessions through the warmer months, with summer storms able to interrupt that slide. This lake’s own monthly pattern does not mirror a simple spring peak; the typical high comes in October, and the typical low comes in March.
That kind of shift is worth watching if you fish from shore or keep gear near the edge. A 20.9 in (53.2 cm) swing is enough to change shallow-water access and the distance from a fixed dock to the active waterline. The record range is much wider, so the station has seen both tight routine movement and much larger departures.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is best read as today’s level against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That comparison puts the reading in context: it tells you whether the lake is running above or below its usual place for this date, instead of just showing an elevation by itself.
Raw level matters, but the daily median matters more for decision-making. A shoreline user cares less about the absolute number alone than about whether today is typical for this date, given the station’s 46-year history. The reading is published by the USGS, which is the agency responsible for this station’s data.
How this page is built
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.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
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.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
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.
Alerts that watch the water for you
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.
Where Nibi comes from
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.
Coverage
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.
Free forever, funded by members
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.
Water Stories
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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
