Tay at Caputh Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Tay at Caputh in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Scotland, United Kingdom
- Primary gauge sepa-14936 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Tay at Caputh
The Tay at Caputh is a gauged river in Scotland.
The watershed
At Caputh, the Tay drains 3210 km2 (1,239 sq mi) above the station. That upstream area is what sets the scale of the water here: after widespread rain, the river can rise together, and after dry weather the level can settle back. For people using the river for access, intakes, or fishing, the catchment size matters because changes upstream are not small, local shifts; they are basin-wide.
This station has 36 years of record, so the pattern is long enough to show both seasonal rhythm and extremes. The highest month is January, with a typical level of 1.08 m (3.53 ft). The lowest month is July, with a typical level of 0.37 m (1.21 ft). That is the seasonal shape to keep in mind here: winter and early spring are usually the higher part of the year, while midsummer tends to be lower and slower to recover.
What the numbers say
The record high is 4.18 m (13.72 ft) in January 1993. The record low is 0.06 m (0.21 ft) in September 1996. Those two marks show how far this reach can move within the record, and they are useful reference points for anyone watching bank access, moorings, or shallow crossings.
The typical annual swing is 70.5 cm (27.8 in). That is a practical number for this river: it tells you the river does not sit still through the year. In a dry warm spell, the summer drop can be enough to affect wading, while winter levels can push the channel into a very different range than the one seen in midsummer.
The seasonal note fits a rain-fed river in this part of the region: winter and spring rain usually set the higher flows, and the warm season can bring a long lower-water stretch.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page compares today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is better than raw elevation because a river level by itself says little without the date. A level that is ordinary in winter may be high for summer, and a level that looks modest in January may still be below the usual mark for that day.
For Caputh, that daily comparison is the quickest way to see whether the Tay is running above or below its usual seasonal position. It is the kind of readout that helps you decide whether to expect easy bank access, a tighter channel, or a river that is behaving more like its winter pattern. SEPA maintains the station record here.
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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