WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Thames at Pinkhill Lock in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
River Thames at Pinkhill Lock is a gauged river in England.
The seasonal pattern here is small but useful to watch. January is the highest month, with a typical level of 0.17 m (0.54 ft), while March is the lowest month at 0.11 m (0.36 ft). That gap is a typical annual swing of 5.6 cm (2.2 in), so the day-to-day shifts are modest compared with many rivers.
For people using the reach, that means the level usually changes by inches, not feet, through the year. A mooring line, a bank-side intake, or a shallow launch point still needs some margin, but the seasonal signal is not large. Under temperate hydrology, that spring-to-summer pattern usually means higher water earlier in the year and lower water later on, which is the rhythm to watch here.
The station record runs for 28 years, and the extremes show that this river can still move well beyond its typical seasonal band. The highest level in the record is 1.02 m (3.33 ft), reached in July 2007. The lowest is -0.25 m (-0.83 ft), reached in July 2026.
Those numbers matter because they set the outer edge of what this reach has already shown. A dock, bank access, or low-set fixture that works through a normal January or March may still be tested when the river pushes toward its record range. The spread between record high and record low also shows that the same gauge can see very different conditions in summer from one year to the next.
The hero number on this page is the current level read against the median for this calendar day, which is more useful than raw elevation on its own. Raw level tells you where the water sits right now; the day-specific median tells you whether that reading is normal for this time of year at this station.
That comparison is especially helpful on the River Thames at Pinkhill Lock because the seasonal swing is small, but the record range is much wider. At an EA gauge with 28 years on record, the median gives a cleaner answer for cottagers, anglers, and anyone watching access or safety at the water’s edge.
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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