WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Hamps at Waterhouses in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
River Hamps at Waterhouses is a gauged river in England.
This station has 27 years of record, so the seasonal pattern here is worth paying attention to. The typical high water comes in December at 0.3 m (0.98 ft), while the typical low is in July at 0.14 m (0.45 ft). That is a modest annual swing of 16.3 cm (6.4 in), but it is enough to matter for shallow crossings, bank access, and any intake set close to the bed.
For cottagers and anglers, that December-to-July drop is the main rhythm to plan around. Winter and early-spring water is the period when the river is most likely to sit higher for longer; midsummer is the stretch when lower stages are more common.
The station’s record high is 1.13 m (3.71 ft), set in November 2024. The record low is 0.08 m (0.26 ft), set in August 2025. Those two readings show the range this reach can cover in a short span of time, from a level that will reach farther onto the banks to one that leaves very little water in the channel.
For anyone watching the river for access, fishing, or water use, the important point is not only the spread but the fact that both ends of that range are recent. A long record can still contain sharp recent extremes, and this station has both within the last few seasons.
The number shown at the top of the page is most useful when you compare today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record, not with raw elevation alone. A river at 0.3 m (0.98 ft) can mean something very different in December than it does in July, because the normal background level changes through the year.
That is why the page is built around the station’s own history. Water Survey of Canada is not the operating agency here; this station is published by the Environment Agency. The day-by-day comparison tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual place in the season, which is the practical question for a dock, a bank crossing, or an angler deciding whether conditions are near normal for the date.
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.
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.
Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.