WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rivière Richelieu – Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix in QC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Rivière Richelieu – Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix is a gauged river in the Richelieu watershed, QC.
The record high is 30.57 m (100.3 ft), set in April 2019. The record low is 28.34 m (92.98 ft), set in October 2025. That span is the range this reach has shown on the record, and it is enough to matter at a dock, a landing, or an intake near the bank.
The seasonal pattern is clear. April is the highest month on average, at 29.78 m (97.7 ft). October is the lowest month on average, at 28.72 m (94.23 ft). The typical annual swing is 1.06 m (3.5 ft). For people using the river, that means spring water can sit well above late-season levels, and fixed structures need room for that change.
The station drains 21453 km2 (8283 sq mi) upstream of this gauge. That is the area reflected in the readings here, not the watershed as a whole.
The regional rhythm fits what the record shows: strong spring freshet in April and May, then lower water in summer, with early ice formation in the cold season. On this river, that means the spring rise is the part most likely to change access, shore footing, and near-bank conditions first. Summer is the period when the channel is more likely to pull back from those higher marks.
This page’s hero number is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across more than 15 years of record at the station. That is more useful than raw elevation alone because the same level can mean different things in April and October.
The station is operated by the CEHQ. If today’s number sits above the date median, the river is running higher than usual for this day; if it sits below, it is running lower. That gives cottagers, anglers, and anyone watching bank levels a cleaner read on where the river stands for this season.
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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