Salt River at Priest Drive near Phoenix Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Salt River at Priest Drive near Phoenix in AZ, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AZ, United States
- Watershed lower salt
- Primary gauge 09512165 (USGS)
About Salt River at Priest Drive near Phoenix
The watershed
The Salt River at Priest Drive near Phoenix sits in the Lower Salt watershed, Arizona.
This gauge drains 13,223 sq mi (34,247 km2) above the station. For people watching this reach, that upstream area matters more than the city name on the map: runoff from a wide basin can arrive in short bursts, and the channel can change fast between events.
What the numbers say
This station has 33 years of record.
The highest recorded level is 8.51 ft (2.6 m), in March 2023. The lowest recorded level is 0.07 ft (0.02 m), in July 2013. That span is a reminder that this reach can move from very low water to a much higher stage within the same record.
Seasonally, the usual high point is March at 2.63 ft (0.8 m), while the usual low point is July at 1.91 ft (0.58 m). The typical annual swing is 8.6 in (21.9 cm). For docks, bank access, and intakes, that is the baseline to plan around: March tends to sit higher, July lower.
The fastest 24-hour rise is not listed here, so there is no warning figure to quote from this station data.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for the same calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a stage that looks ordinary in one month can be high or low for that date.
This page is a USGS station, and the record spans 33 years. When you check the hero number, think of it as context for where the river stands right now relative to its own history, not just as a single height on the staff.
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 17,900+ lakes and rivers
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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.
Coverage
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.
Free forever, funded by members
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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