WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for South Fork Edisto River above Springfield in SC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
South Fork Edisto River above Springfield is in the South Fork Edisto watershed in South Carolina.
The highest stage in the record is 16.09 ft (4.91 m), set in October 2015. The lowest is 8.65 ft (2.64 m), set in July 2015. That span is what this site has already shown in a short record of 12 years: a river that can move a long way between dry-season lows and flood-season peaks.
The seasonal pattern is clear. January is the highest typical month at 12.93 ft (3.94 m), while September is the lowest typical month at 10.7 ft (3.26 m). The typical annual swing is 26.7 in (67.9 cm). For anyone using a dock, crossing, intake, or bank access, that swing matters more than a single reading: it tells you the range the river tends to work through each year.
This gauge sits in a rain-driven coastal-plain and piedmont setting, where winter and spring rains usually keep levels up, and long warm-season low-flow stretches are part of the pattern. The record also shows that hurricane-season deluges can rewrite highs.
For local users, that means the river can stay fairly steady for stretches and then jump quickly when a wet spell arrives. Fishing access, shallow crossings, and any low bank work are most sensitive when the river is near its seasonal low. Higher water in winter and early spring is part of the normal cycle here, so a full-looking channel is not unusual for this site.
The hero number on this page is today’s stage compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it shows whether the river is running typical for the date, above its usual band, or below it.
This station is operated by the USGS, and the record spans more than 12 years. When you are checking conditions for a crossing, a dock, or a day on the water, the calendar-day median puts today’s reading in context with what this river usually does at this point in the year.
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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