WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Irwell at Bury Ground in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
River Irwell at Bury Ground is a gauged river in England.
This page is for the river at Bury Ground, and the useful pattern here is seasonal rather than dramatic. In this temperate setting, the usual rhythm is a higher late-year level and a lower mid-summer one. For anyone managing a riverside intake, a landing, or a low bank, that means the standing water you plan around in December is typically higher than the water you see in July.
The station has 31 years on record, so the day-to-day behaviour sits on a decent local baseline rather than a short snapshot. That matters when you are judging whether a rise is ordinary for the date or simply part of a short spell.
The typical highest month is December at 0.39 m (1.27 ft), while the typical lowest month is July at 0.26 m (0.86 ft). That seasonal swing is 12.4 cm (4.9 in), which is modest in absolute terms but still enough to change how a shallow edge, a mooring point, or a pump screen behaves through the year.
The record high is 1.16 m (3.81 ft), set in June 2012. The record low is 0.2 m (0.65 ft), set in July 2010. Those two marks show the range the river has already reached at this gauge, and they give a clearer sense of stress on banks, access, and any equipment close to normal water level than the season average alone.
The hero reading on this page is best judged against the median for this calendar day across the station’s 31 years on record. That is more useful than raw elevation because river levels are seasonal: 0.39 m (1.27 ft) in December means something different from the same level in July, and the daily median puts today’s reading beside what is usual for this date.
The station is operated 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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