WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Stoney Creek at London in ON, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Stoney Creek in the Upper Thames watershed, Ontario.
The record at this station runs for 24 years.
The highest reading in that span was 9.09 m (29.81 ft) in February 2018. The lowest was 6.9 m (22.63 ft) in September 2005. That gap is what long-term users have to plan around: the creek can sit near its seasonal low for part of the year, but it has also reached a much higher level during the record.
The seasonal pattern is fairly tight. The highest typical month is March at 7.16 m (23.49 ft), and the lowest typical month is August at 7 m (22.97 ft). The typical annual swing is 16 cm (6.3 in). For someone with a dock, intake, or bank access, that is a modest year-to-year range, but it still matters when water is already close to a fixed structure.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so there is no record-based short-notice warning figure to quote.
The station drains 37.7 km2 (14.6 sq mi) above the gauge. That is the catchment that feeds this reading, not the full Upper Thames system.
In this part of Ontario, the seasonal rhythm is the useful thing to watch: spring freshet late April-May, then a natural summer drawdown July-September, with an early-winter decline as ice forms. On this creek, the monthly record pattern is consistent with that general cycle, with March usually the high point and August the low point.
For local users, that means the creek is not flat through the year. Even with a small typical swing, the bank edge, shallow crossings, and any fixed intake should be judged against the seasonal low, not just the day you happen to be there.
The hero number on the page is most useful when you read it against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record, not just as a raw elevation. A single water level by itself does not say whether the creek is ordinary for the date or sitting above or below its usual range.
That daily median comparison is better because it puts today’s reading in context with the station’s own history. With 24 years of record here, that context is the right scale for cottagers, anglers, and anyone checking the creek for access or change.
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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