WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Mickley Dyke at Hempholme Pumping Station in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Mickley Dyke at Hempholme Pumping Station is a gauged river in England.
With no watershed named for this station, the useful frame here is the reach itself and its seasonal pattern. The Environment Agency station has 30 years on record, so the numbers below give a fair view of how this water behaves from year to year.
The seasonal high comes in February at 2.19 m (7.19 ft), and the seasonal low comes in August at 1.63 m (5.35 ft). That typical annual swing is 56.2 cm (22.1 in). For anyone with a dock, intake, or bank access, that is the range to expect most years: higher water in late winter, lower water by late summer.
The record high is 3.66 m (12.02 ft) in November 2012. The record low is 1.46 m (4.78 ft) in September 1996. Those two markers show the spread this gauge has seen over time, from low-water conditions that can leave shallow margins tight to periods when water stands well above the usual seasonal level.
The river’s pattern is straightforward. February is usually the high point, August the low point. That is the kind of cycle that matters for moorings, bank access, and any work that depends on a stable edge. A difference of 56.2 cm (22.1 in) across the year is enough to change how far a boat sits off the bank and how much slack a fixed pipe or ladder needs.
The record high in November 2012 sits well above the usual February level, so this gauge can move beyond its normal seasonal range. The record low in September 1996 is well below the usual August level, which tells you late summer can still tighten the margins further.
The hero number on this page is today’s level set against the median for this calendar day in the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it answers the practical question: is the river behaving as it usually does for this date, or is it running high or low for the season?
At this station, that comparison rests on more than 30 years of record from the Environment Agency. For cottagers and anglers, it is the better quick read: not just how high the water is, but how that reading sits against the normal band for this day of the year.
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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