Okanogan River at Oroville Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Okanogan River at Oroville in WA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location WA, United States
- Watershed okanogan
- Primary gauge 12439500 (USGS)
About Okanogan River at Oroville
Okanogan River in the Okanogan watershed, Washington.
Season by season
The river usually runs highest in May, around 8 ft (2.44 m), and lowest in August, around 6.28 ft (1.91 m). That is a typical annual swing of 20.6 in (52.4 cm), which is enough to matter for docks, pumps, and shallow launches.
For this part of Washington, the seasonal pattern fits a snowmelt-fed river: spring brings the higher water, and late summer brings the lower water. If you use the river for irrigation or a small intake, August is the tighter month to watch. If you fish it, the shift from May to August changes access and current depth.
The station drains 3195 sq mi (8275 km2) above the gauge, so the reading reflects the upstream basin feeding this point, not the whole Okanogan watershed.
Records and rises
The highest recorded level is 18.64 ft (5.68 m) in June 1997. The lowest recorded level is 0 ft (0 m) in November 1985.
That gap tells you this station has seen a wide range over its 50 years on record. A high-water year can push the river well beyond its usual spring level, while the record low shows how far it can drop when the basin is dry and demand is high later in the season.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so there is no value to use for warning lead time from this set of records.
Reading the hero number
Today’s reading is best judged against the median for this calendar day at this USGS station, not against the raw elevation by itself. The raw number can look large or small without telling you whether it is unusual for this date.
Using the day-of-year median shows whether the river is running above or below its normal seasonal position for this time of year. With more than 50 years on record, that comparison is the cleaner way to read what the river is doing today at Oroville.
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.
Water Stories
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.
Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
