WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Schoharie Creek at Burtonsville NY in NY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Schoharie Creek at Burtonsville is in the Schoharie watershed, New York.
The station has 50 years on record. The highest stage in that record was 9.54 ft (2.91 m) in August 2011. The lowest was 0.54 ft (0.17 m) in September 2025.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The typical high point comes in April at 2.22 ft (0.68 m), and the typical low point comes in September at 0.84 ft (0.26 m). That is a typical annual swing of 16.5 in (42 cm).
For anyone keeping a dock, pump intake, or bank access in mind, that spread matters. April levels are the time to watch for fuller banks and faster water. September is when the creek most often runs low enough to expose shallow margins and tighten margins for shallow draft use.
The gauge drains 886 sq mi (2295 km2) upstream of the station. That is the catchment the readings reflect here, not the whole Schoharie watershed.
In this part of northeastern hydrology, spring snowmelt freshet is the usual seasonal high, with summer recessions after that. The record here fits that pattern in the monthly numbers, with April above September on the long view. When flood risk rises, it is often in the broader seasonal window when snowmelt or heavy rain reaches the channel together.
The number shown on the page is the current river stage. It is most useful when set against the median for the same calendar day across the station record, because that shows whether today is ordinary for this date or running high or low for the season.
Raw elevation alone does not tell you that. A stage can look modest in April and still be high for the day, or look low in summer and still be near the usual seasonal minimum. With more than 50 years of USGS record at this station, the day-median comparison is the cleaner guide for cottagers, anglers, and anyone timing a crossing or intake.
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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