WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Moreau River near Whitehorse in SD, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Moreau River near Whitehorse sits in the Lower Moreau watershed in South Dakota.
The record on this station runs back more than 50 years, so the range here is worth reading closely.
The highest level in the file is 27.2 ft (8.29 m), set in March 2019. The lowest is 0.9 ft (0.27 m), set in October 2024. That spread matters to anyone taking water from the river, working near a bank, or watching access at a crossing: this reach can move from very low water to a much higher stage in the same record.
The seasonal pattern is clear too. The typical high point comes in May at 3.46 ft (1.06 m). The typical low point comes in September at 2.39 ft (0.73 m). The typical annual swing is 12.8 in (32.6 cm). For a river like this, that is the part of the record to keep in mind when setting pumps, reading a gauge, or planning time on the water.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts for this station.
This station drains 4,889 sq mi (12,663 km2) above the gauge. That is the catchment feeding the reading here, not the full watershed shown on a map.
In this part of the Prairie region, spring snowmelt is usually the main pulse, and it can come on fast when the ground is frozen. Summer can bring short storm-driven bumps, followed by long recessions. For people along the river, that usually means spring is the time to watch for the biggest changes, while late summer and early fall are more often the low-water stretch.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is running high or low for this date, not just where it sits on an absolute scale.
This station is run by the USGS. With more than 50 years of record, the day-to-day comparison is a solid way to read what the river is doing now against what it usually does here.
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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