WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Mackenzie River at Fort Good Hope in NT, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
The Mackenzie River at Fort Good Hope is in the Hare Indian watershed in the Northwest Territories, with 1,640,000 km2 (633,207 sq mi) upstream of this station.
This gauge sits on the Mackenzie in a subarctic regime. Spring breakup and snowmelt usually set the pace here, and long winter low flows under ice are part of the annual pattern. For people watching a landing, bank, or intake, that means the river can change fast in the thaw season and then settle into a much lower winter range.
The record at this station now runs for 62 years. That is enough to show both the extremes and the usual seasonal shape.
The highest level in the record is 12.85 m (42.14 ft), reached in May 2021. The lowest is -0.33 m (-1.1 ft), reached in October 2024. Those two marks set the outer bounds for what this reach has actually done at the gauge.
The seasonal pattern is narrower than the record extremes but still important. June is the usual high month at 5.23 m (17.16 ft), while December is the usual low month at 0.95 m (3.12 ft). The typical annual swing is 4.28 m (14 ft). For cottagers and anglers, that is the range a dock, ramp, or nearshore access has to live with from one part of the year to the next.
The number on the page is meant to be read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw height on its own. That comparison shows whether the river is sitting above or below what is normal for this date in the station record.
For this gauge, that is the more useful check. A level by itself tells you where the water surface is; the daily median tells you how unusual that reading is for the season. With more than 62 years on record, that context is what helps separate a routine winter low from a level that stands out for the 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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