WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Manning Canal near Ile des Chenes in MB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Manning Canal in the Rat and Tourond watershed in Manitoba is monitored near Ile des Chenes.
The record at this station spans more than 64 years. The highest level in the file is 5.13 m (16.84 ft) in April 2011. The lowest is 0.76 m (2.5 ft) in July 2012.
That spread matters for anyone drawing water, checking a bank, or using a dock or crossing. The canal can sit near its seasonal low in late summer and then climb well above that level in other years. The typical swing across the year is 1.05 m (3.4 ft), which is enough to change how much shore, bank, or intake sits above the waterline.
The seasonal pattern peaks in March at 2 m (6.57 ft) and reaches its lowest typical level in August at 0.96 m (3.15 ft). On this prairie basin, that is the pattern to watch: higher water in spring, then recession through summer.
The catchment above this station is 481 km2 (186 sq mi). That is the area feeding the gauge, not the full Rat and Tourond watershed.
For nearby landowners, that upstream area is what can deliver runoff to the canal during wet periods. For anglers, it is the scale of water moving through this reach and the scale behind level changes at the station. The record low and high show that this canal has sat near 1 m (3.28 ft) and also risen above 5 m (16.4 ft), so local conditions can vary a lot from one season to another.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because the same height can mean something different in March than in August.
With more than 64 years of record, Water Survey of Canada has enough history here to show what is normal for this day and what is not. That helps separate an ordinary seasonal level from one that is unusually high or low 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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