Sugar Creek near Springfield Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Sugar Creek near Springfield in IL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IL, United States
- Watershed south fork sangamon
- Primary gauge 05576250 (USGS)
About Sugar Creek near Springfield
Sugar Creek in the South Fork Sangamon watershed, Illinois.
The watershed
The gauge sits on Sugar Creek near Springfield, with 274 sq mi (710 km2) upstream of the station. That area is what this reading sees first, so rain and melt there are what matter for this site.
For people watching the creek, the seasonal shape is modest but real. Typical high water comes in May at 12.03 ft (3.67 m), and the typical low point is September at 9.87 ft (3.01 m). That is a seasonal swing of 25.9 in (65.9 cm), enough to change how much clearance a dock or intake has to work with over the year.
The long record also shows that Sugar Creek can move outside that usual band. The highest level in the record is 31.49 ft (9.6 m) in June 2011. The lowest is 9.47 ft (2.89 m) in March 2026. Those two ends show the range this creek has already reached at the station.
What the numbers say
This is a prairie-midwest river reach, so the seasonal rhythm is familiar: winter-spring rain and melt floods dominate, then water eases back in summer. On this creek, that pattern shows up in the monthly medians, with the highest typical level in May and the lowest in September.
For landowners and anglers, the useful part is the spread. A creek that only shifts by 25.9 in (65.9 cm) in a typical year can still climb much higher in a wet season, and the record high of 31.49 ft (9.6 m) in June 2011 is the level to keep in mind when thinking about bank access, low crossings, and anything set close to the water.
The low end matters too. The record low of 9.47 ft (2.89 m) in March 2026 shows how far the stage can fall at the gauge. If you draw water, launch shallow craft, or fish from shore, that lower bound is part of the planning picture as much as the flood peak.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone because a stage of 12 ft (3.66 m) means something different in early spring than it does in late summer.
This station is run by the USGS, and the record here runs for 16 years. That gives enough history to judge whether today is near the usual range for this date or standing well above it.
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.
Water Stories
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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
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Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
