WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rivière Coaticook – Waterville in QC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Rivière Coaticook – Waterville is a gauged river in the Upper Saint-François watershed in Quebec.
The station record spans 48 years. The highest level on file is 90.11 m (295.64 ft), reached in April 1982. The lowest is 87.36 m (286.61 ft), reached in July 1989.
The seasonal pattern is modest at this gauge. The highest typical month is March, at 88.81 m (291.35 ft). The lowest typical month is May, at 88.67 m (290.91 ft). The typical annual swing is 13.5 cm (5.3 in).
For people living along the river, that means the level usually stays within a fairly tight band, but the record still shows that a spring high and a summer low can sit several metres apart when conditions shift from one year to the next. A dock, intake, or low crossing should be sized for that spread, not just for the average day.
The station drains 514 km2 (198 sq mi) above this point. That is the area feeding the gauge, not the whole watershed downstream.
The regional rhythm fits the record: strong spring freshet in April and May, then summer low water, with early ice formation later in the year. On this river, March is the usual high-water month in the gauge record, while May is the usual low-water month. That is the seasonal shape to watch if you fish, launch, or manage a shoreline access.
The number shown on the page is most useful when it is compared with the median for the same calendar day, not just read as an absolute elevation. A raw level tells you where the water sits; the day-of-year median tells you whether this river is running above, below, or near its usual position for the date.
That context matters at the Waterville station because the Water Survey of Canada and CEHQ-style records are built to show change over time, not just a single height. With more than 48 years on record, the daily median is a better guide for deciding whether today is ordinary for the season or a departure that needs attention.
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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