WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Cocker at South Street Footbridge in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
River Cocker at South Street Footbridge is a gauged river in England.
Temperate rivers often show their highest levels in winter or spring and their lowest in summer, and this station fits that pattern in a simple way. January is the highest typical month here, at 1.16 m (3.81 ft), while June is the lowest typical month, at 0.9 m (2.95 ft). For anyone with a footbridge, bank access, or a nearby intake, that monthly spread is the difference between a river that sits comfortably within its channel and one that is running leaner.
The typical annual swing is 26.1 cm (10.3 in), which is modest in absolute terms but still enough to matter day to day. It is the kind of range that changes how close the water sits to a low bank, a step, or a mooring point without needing a big flood to do it.
The record high is 3.69 m (12.11 ft), set in November 2009. The record low is 0.75 m (2.47 ft), set in June 2020. Those two marks show the reach the river has already shown at this gauge: the same channel can carry very different amounts of water over time, so a single reading should be treated as a snapshot, not a promise.
With 25 years on record, the station has enough history to show that this site can move well outside its typical seasonal range. For users on the water, that matters more than any one number in isolation: a high reading can affect access and freeboard, while a very low one can leave shallow margins where you do not expect them.
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for the same calendar day across the station’s record, not against the raw level alone. That comparison tells you whether today is above or below what is ordinary for this date, which is more useful than elevation by itself when you are judging local conditions.
This station is run by the Environment Agency.
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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