WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rivière Matane in QC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Rivière Matane is a gauged river in the Matane watershed, Quebec.
This reach follows the regional pattern: a strong spring freshet in April-May from snowmelt, summer low water, and early ice formation. For a dock, pump intake, or bank access, that means the water can move from high spring levels to a much lower summer line over a short season.
The seasonal range here is clear. The typical highest month is July at 48.11 m (157.84 ft), while the typical lowest month is December at 45.67 m (149.84 ft). The typical annual swing is 2.44 m (8 ft), which is the spread a shoreline user has to plan for through the year.
The station has 50 years on record, so the extremes below come from a fairly long local history.
The record high is 48.64 m (159.58 ft), set in May 1979. The record low is 45.04 m (147.77 ft), set in March 1985. Those two marks frame what this reach has already shown: in spring it can push well above its low-water range, and by late winter it can drop close to the bottom of that record.
The catchment above this station is 1685 km2 (651 sq mi). That is a sizeable upstream area for runoff to gather in, so changes upstream can be reflected here in the water level that anglers and cottagers see at the gauge.
The hero number on this page is today's reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a level only means something when set against what is normal for this date.
At this station, the comparison is drawn from the CEHQ record at Barrage Mathieu-D'Amours, with more than 50 years of record behind it. Used that way, the number tells you whether the river is running high, low, or near its usual position for this day of the year.
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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