Ninetynine Island Reservoir. below Cherokee Falls Water Level
Live lake level, flow, historical records and forecast for Ninetynine Island Reservoir. below Cherokee Falls in SC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Water body NINETYNINE ISLAND RES. BELOW CHEROKEE FALLS
- Location SC, United States
- Watershed upper broad
- Primary gauge 02153550 (USGS)
About Ninetynine Island Reservoir. below Cherokee Falls
Ninetynine Island Reservoir sits in the Upper Broad watershed in South Carolina.
What the record shows
The highest reading in the record is 107.56 ft (32.78 m), reached in September 2024. The lowest is 94.73 ft (28.87 m), reached in November 2017. That span is the practical range this reservoir has shown over 21 years of record.
The seasonal pattern is narrow. January is the highest typical month at 99.69 ft (30.39 m), and July is the lowest typical month at 99.46 ft (30.32 m). The typical annual swing is 2.8 in (7.1 cm). For people watching docks, pumps, or shoreline access, that means the usual year-to-year change is small, but the extremes are much larger than the month-to-month pattern.
In this part of the region, winter and spring rain often set the pace, and a tropical storm in late summer or early fall can reset the high-water mark quickly. The monthly record here fits that rhythm.
The watershed
The station drains 1550 sq mi (4015 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole watershed label on the map.
For a reservoir this size, upstream rain matters more than local weather. When the basin is wet, levels can move beyond the monthly norm; when the warm season is dry, the water can sit close to the seasonal low for longer stretches. Fishermen and cottagers should read the level as a basin response, not just a shoreline condition.
Reading the hero number
The number on the page is most useful when you compare today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That tells you whether the reservoir is running high or low for this date, instead of just seeing an elevation by itself.
This station is a USGS site, and the record covers more than 21 years. On a gauge like this, the calendar-day median is the better yardstick because it puts today beside the usual seasonal level for the same date.
How this page is built
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.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
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.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
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.
Alerts that watch the water for you
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.
Where Nibi comes from
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.
Coverage
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.
Free forever, funded by members
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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How every number is computed - About the platform
