S F South Branch Potomac River at Brandywine Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for S F South Branch Potomac River at Brandywine in WV, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location WV, United States
- Watershed south branch potomac
- Primary gauge 01607500 (USGS)
About S F South Branch Potomac River at Brandywine
What the record shows
The South Fork South Branch Potomac River at Brandywine sits in the South Branch Potomac watershed, West Virginia.
The station has 50 years on record. The highest stage in that record was 5.71 ft (1.74 m) in April 2018. The lowest was 0.77 ft (0.23 m) in August 2008.
The seasonal shape is narrower than the record spread but still enough to matter at the bank. The typical high month is May at 1.92 ft (0.59 m), and the typical low month is September at 1.31 ft (0.4 m). That is a typical annual swing of 7.4 in (18.7 cm).
For people using this river, that means spring water can run higher than the late-summer level, while September is usually the tighter end of the range for shallow crossings, intakes, and dock access. I do not see a fastest 24-hour rise value in the record here, so I cannot say how much warning this gauge gives on a sharp rain event.
The watershed
This is a mountain tributary system, so rain and melting snow can push water levels up quickly in the cooler part of the year. Summer usually brings the lower end of the seasonal cycle between storms.
The station drains 103 sq mi (267 km2) above the gauge, so the reading reflects what is happening in that upstream area, not the full South Branch Potomac watershed. For anyone fishing, farming, or watching runoff, that matters: what falls in that catchment can show up at Brandywine faster than a larger, flatter basin would suggest.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page should be read against the median stage for the same calendar day across the station’s record, not against a raw elevation by itself. That is the better comparison because river stage changes through the year even when the stream is behaving normally.
Here the station is a USGS site with more than 50 years of record. A current reading that sits above the day’s median is telling you the river is running higher than usual for this date; one below that median is lower than usual for this date. That daily context is what matters for access, bank exposure, and flood watch decisions.
How this page is built
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.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
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.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
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.
Alerts that watch the water for you
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.
Where Nibi comes from
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.
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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.
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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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