WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Onny at Onibury in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
River Onny at Onibury is a gauged river in England.
For this reach, January is the highest typical month at 1.13 m (3.7 ft), while August is the lowest typical month at 0.85 m (2.78 ft). That is a typical annual swing of 27.9 cm (11 in), so the river moves enough through the year to matter for low intakes, for shallow crossings, and for margins where a few centimetres decide whether water sits in the channel or out on the edge.
The seasonal pattern fits a temperate river: higher water in the colder part of the year, lower water in late summer. For anyone watching a bank, a mooring, or a field edge, the useful point is not just the peak or the low, but how steadily the river changes around them.
The highest level in the record is 2.86 m (9.37 ft), reached in October 2023. The lowest is 0 m (0 ft), reached in May 1998. Those two marks show the range this site has already seen, and they set the frame for what a local flood watcher or angler should keep in mind: the river can move well beyond its typical seasonal band.
With 28 years on record, the EA archive gives enough history to show how this reach behaves across wet and dry spells. A long record matters because one off day means less than a pattern, and patterns are what tell you whether a rise is normal for the season or something worth checking again.
The hero number on this page is most useful when you read it against the median for the same calendar day across the station record. That puts today in context for this time of year, which is better than raw elevation on its own.
The station is operated by the Environment Agency. At a river like this, a single level only tells you where the water stands right now; the calendar-day median tells you whether today is typical for Onibury, or whether it sits above or below the usual seasonal mark.
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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