WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Mill Creek near Manhattan, in in IN, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Mill Creek near Manhattan, in is a gauged river in the Eel watershed in Indiana.
This gauge watches 294 sq mi (762 km2) upstream of the station. For people along the creek, that is the area feeding the level at this point, so rain over that land is what reaches the gauge.
The creek’s seasonal pattern is modest but steady. The typical high month is April at 9.33 ft (2.84 m), while the typical low month is September at 8.22 ft (2.51 m). That 13.3 in (33.9 cm) annual swing is the part to keep in mind for docks, intakes, and low crossings: the water does move through a usable range even in an ordinary year.
The record high is 14.31 ft (4.36 m) in April 2013. The record low is 6.83 ft (2.08 m) in August 2025. Those two marks show the reach can leave its usual band on both sides, with the low end dropping well below the typical September level and the high end climbing well above the typical April level.
The station has 50 years on record. That gives enough history to put a single reading in context instead of treating it as a one-day snapshot. For anyone using the creek near a bank, ramp, or intake, the range between the typical month-to-month levels and the recorded extremes is the useful part of the record.
This page’s hero number is best read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw height by itself. A level can look ordinary or unusual only when you compare it with what this creek usually does on the same day across its record.
The station is run by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the long record here makes that day-by-day comparison more useful than a single elevation. With more than 50 years on record, the current reading sits in a context that local users can trust when deciding whether the creek is running near its usual band or outside it.
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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