Pond Branch at Oregon Ridge Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Pond Branch at Oregon Ridge in MD, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location MD, United States
- Watershed gunpowder patapsco
- Primary gauge 01583570 (USGS)
About Pond Branch at Oregon Ridge
Pond Branch at Oregon Ridge sits in the Gunpowder-Patapsco watershed in Maryland.
The watershed
This is a small USGS gauge on Pond Branch, with an upstream area of 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2). The record here runs for more than 44 years, so the page is reading from a long local archive rather than a short burst of data.
For people watching the water at a crossing, intake, or stream edge, the range matters more than the name. The highest recorded level is 1.71 ft (0.52 m) in October 2012, and the lowest recorded level is 0.98 ft (0.3 m) in August 2008. Those two marks set the outer edges of what this site has seen.
What the numbers say
The seasonal pattern is narrow but real. The typical high point is in April at 1.26 ft (0.38 m), and the typical low point is in September at 1.21 ft (0.37 m). The typical annual swing is 0.6 in (1.5 cm).
That is not a large spread, which tells you the stream’s day-to-day level stays close to its usual band most of the year. Even so, the record high and record low show that the gauge can move outside that band, so a low crossing, small culvert, or shallow margin can still change quickly when rain lands on the basin.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because the same level can mean different things in different seasons.
At this site, the comparison comes from the USGS record and more than 44 years of observations. If today sits above the calendar-day median, the stream is running higher than usual for this date; if it sits below, it is running lower than usual. For a neighbour using the water, that context is the part that helps with crossing conditions, bank access, and how much room remains before the stream reaches the upper end of its usual range.
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
