Stave River above Stave Lake Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Stave River above Stave Lake in Canada, BC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Canada, BC, Canada
- Watershed lower fraser coast
- Primary gauge 08MH147 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Stave River above Stave Lake
What the record shows
The Stave River above Stave Lake is in the Lower Fraser - Coast watershed in British Columbia.
The record high is 6.34 m (20.79 ft), set in November 2021. The record low is 1.76 m (5.76 ft), set in February 2025. That span matters for anyone using a dock, intake, or launch on this reach: the station has seen water move from a low winter mark to a much higher autumn peak.
The seasonal pattern is straightforward. The highest typical month is June at 3.2 m (10.48 ft), and the lowest typical month is February at 2.1 m (6.9 ft). The typical annual swing is 1.09 m (3.6 ft), so this river does not sit at one level for long.
The fastest 24-hour rise on record is 2.26 m (7.4 ft), in November 2017. That is the kind of change that cuts warning time short for anyone watching banks, pumps, or access points. The fastest 24-hour drop is 2.65 m (8.7 ft), in November 2021, which is just as important if you are trying to judge when water will pull back.
The watershed
This gauge drains 293 km2 (113 sq mi) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding the reading here, not the whole watershed on a map.
The pattern fits mountain hydrology. Spring and early summer are the season to watch for freshet, with the highest typical month in June. The lower typical month is February, which is the time when water here usually sits near the low end of its annual range. For people living on the river, that means the same access point can behave very differently between winter and early summer.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is best read as today’s water level against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw elevation by itself. That comparison tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual mark for this date.
Raw level alone can mislead. A level that looks ordinary in June may be high for February, and a level that looks low in June may still be well within normal seasonal range. The calendar-day median puts the reading into the river’s own record, which is the better guide for boat ramps, bank exposure, and local flood watch.
This station has 43 years on record, so the comparison rests on a long local history.
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 17,900+ lakes and rivers
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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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