WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Shady Brook near Sumterville in FL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Shady Brook in the Withlacoochee watershed, Florida.
This station has 45 years of record, and the range is not small. The highest level on file is 51.11 ft (15.58 m) in October 2024, and the lowest is 46.51 ft (14.18 m) in July 1992. For anyone watching a dock, crossing, or intake, that spread is the yardstick: water here can move several feet over the long record, even if day-to-day changes are often smaller.
The seasonal shape is also clear. The typical high month is September at 48.36 ft (14.74 m), while the typical low month is May at 47.39 ft (14.44 m). That is a typical annual swing of 11.7 in (29.7 cm). In practical terms, late-summer and early-fall are the months to watch for higher water, while late spring is the usual low point.
The fastest 24-hour rise is not available in the facts for this page, so there is no value to quote here.
This gauge drains 8 sq mi (20.7 km2) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding this reading, not the full watershed name on the map. The station sits in a part of Florida where summer and early fall are the busy water months: June through September is the period when convective storms and tropical systems can push peaks, while winter and spring tend to bring the lower flows.
For local use, that means the brook can answer quickly to storm rain in the wet season, then settle back during the drier months. If you keep equipment near the bank, the seasonal range and the long record both matter more than any one day’s number.
The number shown on the page is today’s reading against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the brook is running typical for this date, above it, or below it.
USGS operates this station, and the record spans more than 45 years. When you check the hero number, you are comparing the present level with what this day usually looks like here, not just reading a height in isolation.
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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