WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Pheasant Creek near Abernethy in SK, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Pheasant Creek near Abernethy sits in the Central Qu'Appelle - Pheasant watershed in Saskatchewan.
This station’s long-term pattern is a spring rise, with the highest typical month in April at 1.73 m (5.66 ft), and a winter low in January at 1.2 m (3.94 ft). The typical annual swing is 52.6 cm (20.7 in), so a dock, crossing, or intake here has to handle a moderate seasonal range even before a storm or melt pulse comes through.
In Prairie hydrology, that spring peak is often sharp, and this gauge shows why that matters. A rise can come on quickly enough to change conditions over a day, while summer usually settles into recession. For anyone fishing or working near the channel, that means the water can move from one useful level to another without much warning.
The station drains 1150 km2 (444 sq mi) above the gauge, so it is responding to a substantial upstream area.
The record high is 5.89 m (19.34 ft), set in June 2014. The record low is 0.8 m (2.61 ft), set in August 2020. That spread tells you this creek has room to move a lot between dry periods and flood periods.
The fastest 24-hour rise on record is 2.22 m (7.3 ft), also in June 2014. For neighbours and anglers, that is the key warning-time number: if the water can climb that much in a day, low spots, bank access, and shoreline gear can be affected very quickly.
The fastest 24-hour drop on record is 1.06 m (3.5 ft), in June 2011. That kind of fall can leave shallow edges changing fast from one day to the next.
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw elevation. That makes it more useful than a single water level on its own, because it shows whether today is running above or below what is typical for this date.
With 80 years on record, the comparison is grounded in a long local history. Use that daily median to judge whether the creek is sitting near its usual range, or whether it is already pressing toward levels that have mattered here before.
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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