WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Theodosia River below Olsen Lake Diversion in BC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Theodosia River below Olsen Lake Diversion sits in the Strait of Georgia - Toba Inlet watershed in British Columbia.
At this station, the monthly pattern is tight: the typical level is highest in May at 3.87 m (12.68 ft) and lowest in August at 3.73 m (12.22 ft). The typical annual swing is 14 cm (5.5 in), so the seasonal change is small for a river gauge, but it still matters for shore access, intakes, and where a boat sits at the dock.
For a mountain basin, that late-spring high fits the usual freshet season. By late summer, the lower monthly level tells you when the river is likely to be running at its leanest. If you use water from this reach, the difference between May and August is not large, but it is the part of the year when you watch most closely for lower margin.
The record high is 5.05 m (16.57 ft), set in October 2014. The record low is 2.86 m (9.38 ft), set in September 2011. Those two marks show the range this gauge can see over its 25 years on record.
There is no fastest 24-hour rise listed in the facts, so I will not guess at warning time. What is known here is the seasonal swing and the record envelope: a site that stays fairly steady most of the year, but can still move outside its usual band.
The hero number on this page compares today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a river level only makes sense against what is normal for this date.
For this gauge, the record spans 25 years, and the operating agency is Water Survey of Canada. The day-by-day median tells you whether the river is running above, below, or near its usual level for the season, which is the part that matters for fishing access, bank conditions, and water use.
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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