WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Dearne at Houghton in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
River Dearne at Houghton is a gauged river in England.
This station has more than 30 years on record, so the pattern here is well established. For a river in temperate hydrology, the main seasonal lift usually comes in the colder months and the lower water comes later in the year, and that is the shape the record shows here.
The highest month is January, with a typical level of 0.27 m (0.87 ft). The lowest month is September, with a typical level of 0.14 m (0.48 ft). That typical annual swing is 12 cm (4.7 in), which is the range a dock, crossing, or intake has to live with through the year.
The extremes matter more than the monthly averages when you are deciding what to watch. The record high is 1.47 m (4.82 ft) in November 2000. The record low is 0.08 m (0.25 ft) in September 1999. That spread tells you the river can move far outside its usual band, even if most months sit much closer together.
For people living beside the river, the monthly pattern is the main planning guide. January is the high-water month here, while September is the low-water month, so the channel tends to carry more water at the start of the year and less late in the season. That matters for moorings, shallow access, and any pump or pipe that depends on a stable level.
The record high in November 2000 sits well above the usual monthly levels, and the record low in September 1999 sits below them. Those two dates are the clearest reminder that the river does not stay near its monthly average for long periods when conditions change.
The hero number on this page is most useful when today’s reading is compared with the median for the same calendar day across the station record. That comparison shows whether the river is running above or below its usual level for this date, which is more useful than raw elevation alone.
A raw level by itself does not tell you much unless you know the local range. The same reading can mean ordinary water here, high water somewhere else, or low water at another time of year. This station is operated by the Environment Agency, and that makes the day-by-day comparison the better way to read the gauge.
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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