WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
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Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Liard River at Fort Liard in Canada, NT, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Liard River in the Lower Liard - Mouth watershed, Northwest Territories.
At this station, the highest level in the record is 10.94 m (35.91 ft) in April 2010, and the lowest is 1.99 m (6.51 ft) in November 2018. The usual seasonal shape is clear: June is the highest month, at 6.02 m (19.76 ft), and March is the lowest month, at 3 m (9.83 ft).
That makes the typical annual swing 3.03 m (9.9 ft). For anyone with a dock, pump, or landing, that is the range the river asks you to plan around. On this river, the record spans 82 years, so these levels are not one-off readings; they sit inside a long local history.
The gauge drains 219000 km2 (84556 sq mi) upstream of the station. That is the drainage area feeding this point, not the whole named watershed.
This is a subarctic river system, so the seasonal pattern matters. Spring breakup and snowmelt set the main rise of the year, while long winter low flows under ice keep levels lower for much of the cold season. In short summers, water can move fast and change quickly. The record itself shows how wide the spread can be here: from 1.99 m (6.51 ft) in November 2018 to 10.94 m (35.91 ft) in April 2010.
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for the same calendar day in the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it shows whether the river is sitting near its usual level for this date, not just how high it is above an arbitrary datum.
With 82 years on record, that day-by-day context is the best quick check for cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers.
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 in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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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