North Fork Salt Creek near de Witt Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for North Fork Salt Creek near de Witt in IL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IL, United States
- Watershed salt 0009
- Primary gauge 05578250 (USGS)
About North Fork Salt Creek near de Witt
North Fork Salt Creek near de Witt is a river in the Salt watershed in Illinois.
What the record shows
The station record runs for more than 11 years. The highest level in that span was 702.79 ft (214.21 m) in June 2021, and the lowest was 689.97 ft (210.3 m) in September 2025.
The seasonal pattern is tighter than those extremes. The typical high point comes in April at 691.65 ft (210.81 m), and the typical low point comes in August at 690.11 ft (210.35 m). That typical annual swing is 18.4 in (46.7 cm).
For someone with a dock, pump intake, or crossing near the channel, that swing is the day-to-day range to keep in mind. The record high is the larger test: if water rises toward that level, low banks and access points can change fast. The record low matters too, because late-summer water can sit close to the lower end of the station’s history.
The watershed
The USGS gauge drains 107 sq mi (277 km2) upstream of the station. That is the contributing area to this reading, not the full watershed elsewhere on the map.
This part of Illinois follows a prairie-midwest pattern: winter and spring rain and melt floods dominate, slow flat-land drainage can hold water up, and summer usually brings recession. The monthly record here fits that rhythm, with the seasonal high in April and the seasonal low in August.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on the page should be read against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record, not as a stand-alone elevation. That comparison tells you whether today sits above or below the usual level for this date, which is what matters for fishing access, bank conditions, and low-water intakes.
Because this is a USGS station with more than 11 years on record, that day-specific median is the cleaner reference than raw height alone.
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
