WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rocky Reach Dam TW Unit 10 near Wenatchee in WA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Rocky Reach Dam TW Unit 10 near Wenatchee is a gauged river in the Upper Columbia-Entiat watershed in Washington.
This station sits on a river reach with an upstream catchment of 87,800 sq mi (227,401 km2). For people watching the water here, that is a large upstream area, so the level at the gauge reflects conditions far beyond one town or one bank.
The record range is wide. The highest level in the record is 625.42 ft (190.63 m), in May 2023. The lowest is 12.93 ft (3.94 m), in April 1988. That span is why fixed docks, pumps, and shoreline access need to be set with room for a lot of change.
The seasonal pattern is also clear. The highest typical month is November at 615.14 ft (187.5 m), while the lowest typical month is September at 16.76 ft (5.11 m). The typical annual swing is 598.4 ft (182.39 m). For cottagers and anglers, that means the river does not hold one steady summer shape; it moves through a very large range across the year.
The station has 41 years on record, enough to show a strong seasonal rhythm and a record book that includes both very high and very low water. The absence of a fastest 24-hour rise or drop in the facts means there is nothing here to quote for short-term warning time.
What stands out is the contrast between the record high in May 2023 and the typical peak in November. The record low in April 1988 is also far below the usual autumn and winter levels. If you use the river for access, intake, or shoreline fishing, the practical lesson is simple: the level can move from one end of the operating range to the other over the course of a year.
The hero number on this page compares today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a level only tells you where the water stands; the median tells you whether that level is normal for this date.
For a station with 41 years on record, that comparison helps separate an ordinary seasonal level from one that is unusual for today. Water Survey of Canada, USGS, CEHQ, and the Environment Agency all use that same basic idea on their own stations: context matters more than the number alone.
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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