Wakarusa R near Richland Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Wakarusa R near Richland in KS, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location KS, United States
- Watershed lower kansas kansas
- Primary gauge 06891260 (USGS)
About Wakarusa R near Richland
The Wakarusa River near Richland sits in the Lower Kansas, Kansas watershed in Kansas.
What the record shows
This station has 24 years on record.
The highest reading in the record was 22.61 ft (6.89 m) in April 2016. The lowest was 2.01 ft (0.61 m) in November 2012. That spread matters at the bank: the river can sit in a low range for long stretches and still reach much higher levels in a wet month or season.
The typical high month is May, at 4.28 ft (1.31 m). The typical low month is August, at 3.43 ft (1.04 m). The typical annual swing is 10.3 in (26.1 cm). For docks, crossings, and pumps, that is the range that shows up most often, even when the river is not setting records.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so there is nothing to use for warning time on this page.
The watershed
The station drains 164 sq mi (425 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole watershed name on the map.
In plains country, spring and summer storms can push water up quickly, and flat ground can hold it around longer than people expect. After the wet months, the river usually settles into longer dry recessions. For farmers and anglers, that means the stage can change fast during storms, then drift down more slowly between them.
Reading the hero number
On this USGS page, the hero number is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is behaving like a normal day for this date, given the station’s own history.
With 24 years of record, the median gives local context for the day you are looking at, which is the part that matters when you are checking access, intake height, or bank conditions.
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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How every number is computed - About the platform
