WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Tchefuncte River near Folsom in LA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Tchefuncte River near Folsom sits in the Liberty Bayou-Tchefuncta watershed in Louisiana.
The seasonal pattern here is modest but useful to watch. The typical high point comes in February at 6.35 ft (1.94 m), and the typical low point comes in October at 5.24 ft (1.6 m). That puts the usual annual swing at 13.3 in (33.9 cm).
For people who keep a dock, pump, or crossing on the river, that means the water usually changes by inches, not feet, through the year. February is the time to expect the higher end of the normal range; October is when the river is most likely to sit near its seasonal low.
The record high is 21.94 ft (6.69 m), set in August 2016. The record low is 4.45 ft (1.36 m), set in September 2000.
That spread matters more than the seasonal swing. A river that can move from a low in the 4 ft range to a flood peak above 21 ft asks a lot from banks, access roads, and anything built close to the water. With Gulf lowland hydrology, rainfall flooding, backwater, and hurricane-season surges can keep water high for days, so a rising stage is worth watching even when the rain has already moved on.
The station’s catchment above the gauge is 103 sq mi (267 km2), so the reading reflects the basin upstream of this point, not the whole watershed.
This page’s hero number compares today’s stage with the median for this calendar day across the USGS record. That is better than raw elevation because 6 ft can mean very different things in February and in October.
With more than 50 years on record at USGS station usgs-07375000, the calendar-day median gives a local benchmark for what is normal right now. If today sits above that line, the river is running high for the date; if it sits below, it is running low for the date.
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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