WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Pearl River Navigation Canal Lock and Dam No. 1 in LA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Pearl River Navigation Canal Lock and Dam No. 1 is a gauged river in the Lower Pearl watershed, Louisiana.
February is the typical high-water month here, with a level of 39.54 ft (12.05 m). October is the typical low-water month, at 39.37 ft (12 m). That leaves a typical annual swing of 2 in (5.2 cm), so day-to-day changes are usually small even when the broader Gulf lowland pattern keeps water high for days.
For anyone watching a dock, landing, or intake, that means the seasonal range is tight on average, but not irrelevant. Slow drainage can hold levels up after rain, and late-summer or fall water can stay elevated long enough to matter for access and bank conditions.
The record high at this station is 41.7 ft (12.71 m), reached in August 2012. The record low is 37.65 ft (11.48 m), reached in November 2012. Those two marks sit within the same year, which is a useful reminder that this water can move through a wide range even when the monthly average looks steady.
That spread matters more than the monthly swing when you are deciding whether to leave a boat tied, where to set a pump, or how much clearance a low crossing has left. The page does not give a fastest 24-hour rise, so the best warning here is to watch the actual reading closely when rain is in the forecast or when Gulf conditions keep water from draining off quickly.
The hero number on this page is most useful when you compare today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record, not just with the raw elevation. A river can sit high in absolute terms and still be ordinary for the season; the daily median shows whether today is normal for this station or running above or below its usual pattern.
This station has more than 20 years on record, and the data come from the U.S. Geological Survey.
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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