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—— ft above typical
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Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Pecos River near Pecos in NM, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Pecos River near Pecos sits in the Pecos Headwaters watershed in New Mexico.
The gauge drains 189 sq mi (490 km2) upstream of this station. That is the piece of the basin that matters for this page: snowmelt, storms, and dry stretches above the gauge shape what neighbours see here.
This is a river in an arid-southwest setting, so the seasonal pattern matters. Spring is the main rise period on the major rivers in this region, and July through September can bring short, sharp flood pulses from monsoon storms. Between those events, long dry stretches are normal for the calendar, so conditions can change fast when water does arrive.
The highest level in the record is 4.84 ft (1.48 m), in September 2013. The lowest is 0.62 ft (0.19 m), in June 2018. That spread tells you the river can move from a shallow stage to a much higher one over the same reach.
The usual seasonal peak is in May at 2.75 ft (0.84 m), and the usual low is in January at 1.42 ft (0.43 m). The typical annual swing is 15.9 in (40.4 cm). For a dock, pump, or bank access, that is the range to plan around during a normal year.
There is no fastest 24-hour rise listed here, so I will not pretend the station gives a better warning-time number than it does.
The hero number on this page is the current reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because the same stage can mean very different things in January than it does in May.
USGS publishes this station, and the record here runs for 50 years. When you compare today’s reading with the day-specific median, you get a plain read on whether the river is sitting above or below its usual spot for this date, not just how high it is in absolute terms.
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 in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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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