South Branch Raritan River at Stanton NJ Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for South Branch Raritan River at Stanton NJ in NJ, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location NJ, United States
- Watershed raritan
- Primary gauge 01397000 (USGS)
About South Branch Raritan River at Stanton NJ
The South Branch Raritan River at Stanton NJ sits in the Raritan watershed, New Jersey.
What the record shows
This gauge has more than 50 years on record with USGS data.
The highest level in the record is 10.61 ft (3.23 m), set in August 2011. The lowest is 2.19 ft (0.67 m), set in November 2016. Those two marks define the range this reach has actually shown at the station, and they are the numbers to keep in mind when you are judging whether the river is running near its usual band or near an extreme.
The seasonal pattern is fairly tight. March is the highest typical month at 3.03 ft (0.92 m), while November is the lowest typical month at 2.59 ft (0.79 m). The typical annual swing is 5.3 in (13.5 cm). For anyone with a dock, a pump intake, or a favourite fishing bank, that means the river usually shifts within a modest band, but it can still move far outside that band when the gauge sees an event like the August 2011 high.
The watershed
This station drains 147 sq mi (381 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding this point, not the whole Raritan basin.
In this part of the Mid-Atlantic, winter and spring rain floods are the usual seasonal push, while tropical systems and their remnants are the events that can drive the largest jumps. Summer low flows are part of the normal rhythm. For shoreline use, the practical takeaway is simple: plan for a river that can stay near its seasonal band for stretches, then rise hard when a large rain system reaches the watershed.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is best read as today’s level against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record, not as a raw elevation by itself. That comparison shows whether the river is running typical for the date, even when the absolute number looks ordinary on its own.
At a USGS station with more than 50 years of record, the daily median gives a better sense of where the river stands in its seasonal cycle than a single height does.
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.
Water Stories
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How every number is computed - About the platform
