Stones River at US Highway 70 near Donelson Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Stones River at US Highway 70 near Donelson in TN, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location TN, United States
- Watershed stones
- Primary gauge 03430200 (USGS)
About Stones River at US Highway 70 near Donelson
The watershed
The Stones River at US Highway 70 near Donelson is in the Stones watershed in Tennessee.
The gauge drains 934 sq mi (2419 km2) upstream of the station, so the number you see here reflects the water coming past this point, not the whole watershed in the abstract. For people downstream, that upstream area is what sets the timing and size of rises at this site.
What the numbers say
This station’s record high is 33.08 ft (10.08 m), set in March 2021. The record low is 2.12 ft (0.65 m), set in May 2026. That span is a large change in stage for one reach, and it is the range a dock, bank access, or intake has to live within over time.
The seasonal pattern is clear. March is the highest month at 13.15 ft (4.01 m), while October is the lowest month at 4.19 ft (1.28 m). The typical annual swing is 9 ft (2.73 m). For someone watching a crossing or fishing a bank, that means the river can spend part of the year running several feet higher than its autumn level, then drop back to a much lower stage before the next wet season.
The fastest 24-hour rise is not listed in the station facts here, so I will not guess at warning time. In this part of the region, winter-spring rain floods are the main rhythm to watch, and steep tributaries can rise fast.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is best read as today’s stage compared with the median for this calendar day, using 15 years of USGS records. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is running typical for the date, not just how high the gage sits above its local datum.
USGS is the operating agency for this station.
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
