WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Liddel Water at Rowanburnfoot in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Liddel Water at Rowanburnfoot is a gauged river in Scotland.
This station watches the 319 km2 (123 sq mi) of catchment above Rowanburnfoot, so the numbers here reflect what is arriving to this reach rather than the wider river system. For local users, that matters: a small, rain-fed area can change quickly when the weather turns wet, and it can also ease back during a dry spell.
The seasonal pattern in the record fits that kind of river. January is the highest month, with a typical level of 0.8 m (2.63 ft), while June is the lowest month, with a typical level of 0.48 m (1.56 ft). For anyone drawing from the river, launching a boat, or keeping an intake in place, that is the stretch the water has to cover each year.
The long record gives this station some useful context. The highest level on record is 3.19 m (10.47 ft) in December 2015, and the lowest is 0.28 m (0.92 ft) in September 1993. Those two ends of the record show how far this river can move when conditions shift.
The typical annual swing is 32.6 cm (12.8 in). That is the everyday variation to think about for moorings, bankside access, and shallow crossings. It is not the same as the record range, but it is the better guide for routine planning because it describes the usual seasonal change, not only the extremes.
With 39 years on record, the station has enough history to separate a one-off spike from a regular seasonal pattern. The median for a calendar day is the better number to watch because it places today’s reading against the usual level for this date, not just against a raw elevation.
The hero number on this page should be read as today’s level compared with the median for this calendar day at the SEPA station. That is more useful than a raw height alone, because it tells you whether the river is sitting above or below its normal place for the season.
For cottagers, anglers, and farmers, that comparison is the part that helps with decisions. A reading near the seasonal median usually means the river is behaving within its familiar band. A reading well above it means the reach is carrying more water than it usually does on this date.
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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