WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Thames River near Ealing in ON, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
The Thames River in the Upper Thames watershed in Ontario is a long-running gauge record near Ealing.
This station has more than 111 years on record, so the extremes here matter more than a single day’s reading. The record high is 3.85 m (12.62 ft), set in February 2018. The record low is 0.34 m (1.12 ft), set in December 2022.
The seasonal pattern is narrower than those records suggest. The typical high point is in March at 0.96 m (3.15 ft), and the typical low point is in October at 0.48 m (1.56 ft). That gives a typical annual swing of 48.4 cm (19.1 in).
For anyone with a dock, intake, or boat access point, that swing is the number to watch. March levels are usually the highest part of the year here, while October is usually the low point. The record high and record low show that the river can move well outside that seasonal range.
The station drains 1339 km2 (517 sq mi) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding the river at this point, not the whole Upper Thames watershed.
The regional rhythm is seasonal: spring freshet in late April and May, lower flows through July to September, and an early-winter decline as ice forms. That pattern helps explain why river access, low-water crossings, and water supply points can see different stress at different times of year.
With a catchment this size, local rain and snowmelt can change conditions quickly, but the record still shows a fairly regular annual cycle. For users downstream, that means planning for both the usual March-to-October drop and the larger departures that show up in the long record.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading, set against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone because the same level can mean very different things in March than it does in October.
Water Survey of Canada uses that day-of-year comparison to show whether the river is running above or below its normal seasonal position. With more than 111 years of record at 02GD001, that context is what tells you whether the river is behaving normally for this 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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