South Fork Sangamon River below Rochester Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for South Fork Sangamon River below Rochester in IL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IL, United States
- Watershed south fork sangamon
- Primary gauge 05576022 (USGS)
About South Fork Sangamon River below Rochester
The South Fork Sangamon River below Rochester is a gauged river in the South Fork Sangamon watershed, Illinois.
Season by season
This reach follows a prairie-midwest pattern: water is usually highest in spring, then eases back in late summer. The typical high month is May at 12.21 ft (3.72 m), while September is the typical low month at 4.28 ft (1.3 m). That spread matters for docks, low crossings, and any intake sitting close to the bank. A swing of 7.9 ft (2.42 m) is enough to change where the water sits against a landing or bank edge across the year.
The drainage above this station is 870 sq mi (2253 km2), so this gauge is watching a large upstream area. On flat ground, that kind of basin can hold high water for a while after a wet spell, especially when winter and spring runoff stack up.
Records and rises
The record high here is 35 ft (10.67 m), reached in December 2015. The record low is 2.95 ft (0.9 m), reached in February 2018. Those two marks show the range this station has already seen, from very high water to a shallow winter reading.
With 33 years on record, this gauge gives a useful local history for people comparing one season to the next. For anglers, that record range is a clue that access points can change a lot between cold months and high-water periods. For anyone with gear near shore, the lower figure is a reminder that the channel can pull back well below spring levels.
Reading the hero number
The number at the top of the page should be read against the median for this calendar day, not just as a raw elevation. Today’s level makes sense only in the context of what this river usually does on the same date across more than 33 years of USGS records. A reading that sits above the day’s median points to water running higher than usual for this date; one below it points the other way.
That comparison is more useful than elevation alone because the same level can mean different things in May than in September. The seasonal range, the 35 ft (10.67 m) high, and the 2.95 ft (0.9 m) low all help set that context for the South Fork Sangamon.
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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