WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Roseau River at Gardenton in MB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
The Roseau River at Gardenton sits in the Roseau watershed in Manitoba.
This reach rises into its seasonal high in November at 294.93 m (967.61 ft), then falls to its seasonal low in September at 292.39 m (959.3 ft). The typical annual swing is 2.53 m (8.3 ft), so docks, pumps, and low bank access need to handle a fair amount of movement through the year.
For spring, the Prairie pattern matters most: snowmelt flood is the main season to watch across the region, and this river can move well outside its late-summer range when runoff comes in. In late summer, the river commonly sits closer to its annual low.
The record high is 295.79 m (970.43 ft) in June 2002. The record low is 292.13 m (958.43 ft) in September 2012. That span is enough to change what is usable at a landing, how far shallow water extends, and how much freeboard a low bank has.
This station has 111 years on record, which gives a solid view of what is unusual and what is routine. The fastest 24-hour rise is not available in the facts here, so it should not be assumed from the seasonal pattern alone.
The hero number on this page is best read against the median for the same calendar day, not as a raw elevation by itself. A single water level can look high or low without telling you whether it is ordinary for this date at this station.
That day-by-day comparison is the practical one for people using the river now. It shows whether the current level is near the usual range for this point in the record, and it is the better guide for planning access, watching for change, or judging whether the river is behaving as expected.
Water Survey of Canada is the operating agency for this station.
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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