WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Little Piney Creek near Lamar in AR, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Little Piney Creek near Lamar is a gauged river in the Dardanelle Reservoir watershed, Arkansas.
This creek usually runs higher in March at 3.85 ft (1.17 m), then eases to 2.51 ft (0.77 m) in August. That 16 in (40.7 cm) annual swing is enough to matter at a low crossing, a bank access, or a shallow intake. For a stretch like this, spring is the season to expect the most water on the boards, while late summer is the time when the channel shows its lower range.
The drainage area above this station is 154 sq mi (399 km2). That is the land feeding the gauge, so rain over that area is what shows up here first. In a creek of this size, wet weeks can move the level quickly, and dry weeks can leave it close to the low end of its usual band.
The highest level in the record is 12.1 ft (3.69 m) in May 2009. The lowest is 1.53 ft (0.47 m) in August 2012. Those two marks tell you the reach has room to move far beyond its ordinary seasonal swing. If you fish here, that means the shoreline, depth, and current can change a lot between years, even when the month on the calendar is the same.
With 19 years on record, the gauge has enough history to show what is normal for this date and what sits outside that range. That is more useful than a single stage reading, because raw elevation alone does not say whether the creek is running typical for the day or leaning high or low against its own history.
The number at the top of the page is best read against the median for this calendar day at this USGS station. USGS is the operating agency here, and this gauge’s history gives that daily comparison meaning. A current reading can sit above or below the usual level for the date, even when the absolute stage looks plain on its own. For a neighbour watching a driveway, a dock, or a bank below the waterline, that daily median is the cleaner signal.
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.
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.
Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
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.