Smoky Hill R near Mentor Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Smoky Hill R near Mentor in KS, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location KS, United States
- Watershed lower smoky hill
- Primary gauge 06866500 (USGS)
About Smoky Hill R near Mentor
What the record shows
The Smoky Hill River near Mentor sits in the Lower Smoky Hill watershed in Kansas.
The station record runs for more than 50 years. The highest level in that record is 26.81 ft (8.17 m), reached in December 1990. The lowest is 0.02 ft (0.01 m), reached in November 1989.
The seasonal pattern is modest compared with the record range. June is the highest typical month at 5.23 ft (1.59 m), while February is the lowest typical month at 4.43 ft (1.35 m). That is a typical annual swing of 9.6 in (24.4 cm).
For a river crossing, dock, or intake, that means the long-term extremes are far outside the usual monthly band. The usual season changes are small, but the record range shows what this river can do when it leaves that band.
The watershed
The drainage area above this station is 8341 sq mi (21603 km2). That is the area sending water to the gauge, not the broader watershed name on the page.
This is plains hydrology. Spring and summer convective storms can push water up fast, then the river can fall through long dry recessions. On flat land, high water can take time to move out of a reach, so a rise can linger after the rain has passed upstream.
For people living along the river, that means conditions can change quickly in storm season, but low water can also hold on for stretches. The monthly swing here is small in a typical year, yet the record highs and lows show the channel can still move a long way outside that range.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is best read against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not against the raw elevation alone. A water level by itself does not tell you whether the river is high, low, or ordinary for this date.
At this USGS station, the daily context comes from a record with more than 50 years of data. That makes today’s reading easier to place against the local history at this gauge, which is the part that matters for a crossing, a bank, or a diversion.
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.
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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How every number is computed - About the platform
