WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Peace River at Clear Springs near Bartow FL in FL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Peace River at Clear Springs near Bartow FL sits in Florida’s Peace watershed.
This station has more than 24 years of record. The highest level on file is 42.51 ft (12.96 m), in September 2004. The lowest is 32.49 ft (9.9 m), in May 2002.
The seasonal pattern is tight but useful: the highest typical month is September at 37.64 ft (11.47 m), and the lowest typical month is May at 34.57 ft (10.54 m). That typical annual swing is 3.1 ft (93.6 cm), so docks, pumps, and low banks here need to tolerate a few feet of change over the year rather than a steady line.
For people using this water, the record matters because it sets the outer bounds. A late-summer rise can push levels well above the usual seasonal high, while the spring low can pull the river down close to the bottom of its recent range.
The station’s catchment above the gauge is 396 sq mi (1,026 km2). That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole Peace watershed.
The regional pattern here is a summer-wet-season one: June through September is when convective storms and tropical systems are most likely to drive the year’s higher water. Winter and spring are the dry-season low-flow period. In flat terrain, high water can linger for days, so a rise is not only about how fast the water comes up, but how long it stays elevated once it does.
The hero number on this page compares today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is better than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual level for this date, not just how high the staff gauge sits.
This station is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. With more than 24 years of record, that day-by-day median gives a practical benchmark for cottagers, anglers, and anyone watching access, bank safety, or low-water intake conditions.
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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