Ouachita River at Sterlington Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Ouachita River at Sterlington in LA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location LA, United States
- Watershed lower ouachita bayou de loutre
- Primary gauge 07364535 (USGS)
About Ouachita River at Sterlington
Ouachita River at Sterlington is a gauged river in the Lower Ouachita-Bayou De Loutre watershed, Louisiana.
Season by season
The seasonal pattern here is clear. The river is usually highest in April, when the typical level is 66.29 ft (20.21 m), and usually lowest in October, when the typical level is 53.14 ft (16.2 m). That typical annual swing is 13.2 ft (4.01 m), which is enough to matter for docks, ramps, and any intake set close to the bank.
For people living or fishing here, that means spring water is commonly the fuller stage, while autumn often brings the lowest water of the year. In a lowland system, water can also stay elevated after rain because drainage is slow, so the number on the gauge can hold high for days.
Records and rises
The record high is 83.63 ft (25.49 m), set in March 2018. The record low is 49.79 ft (15.18 m), set in October 2024. Those two marks frame the range this station has seen over 45 years on record.
For a river community, the record high is the level to remember when yards, roads, and low banks start to lose margin. The record low shows how far the river can fall in a dry stretch, when shoals tighten up and near-bank water becomes shallow.
The station does not list a fastest 24-hour rise in the facts provided, so there is no warning-time figure to add here.
Reading the hero number
This page’s hero number compares today’s stage with the median for this calendar day across the USGS record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone, because 60 ft (18.29 m) means something different in April than it does in October.
With more than 45 years of record, the median gives a better read on whether the river is running above or below its usual date-based level at Sterlington.
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
