Wapsipinicon River near Anamosa Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Wapsipinicon River near Anamosa in IA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IA, United States
- Watershed lower wapsipinicon
- Primary gauge 05421740 (USGS)
About Wapsipinicon River near Anamosa
The watershed
The Wapsipinicon River near Anamosa is in the Lower Wapsipinicon watershed in Iowa.
This USGS gauge drains 1,575 sq mi (4,079 km2) upstream of the station, so it reflects a broad upstream response rather than one local reach. For people along the river, that means level changes can reflect conditions spread across the basin, not just rain in town.
What the numbers say
The station record runs back 24 years. The highest stage in that record is 25.88 ft (7.89 m) in June 2008. The lowest is 4.01 ft (1.22 m) in October 2023. Those two points frame the range this site has already shown on the page.
The seasonal pattern is narrower than the full record but still matters. The typical high-water month is June, at 7.96 ft (2.43 m). The typical low-water month is October, at 5.11 ft (1.56 m). That leaves a typical annual swing of 34.2 in (86.8 cm). For docks, intakes, and bank access, that is the usual band to plan around even before a flood turns up.
This is a prairie-midwest river, so spring snowmelt and rain on frozen or saturated ground can build water quickly, and summer storms can still push short rises. The record here gives the fuller picture: the river can sit in a fairly steady seasonal range, but it has also reached much higher and lower stages than the monthly normals suggest.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That comparison matters more than raw elevation because a stage of a given height means something different in June than it does in October.
At this station, that context comes from USGS records with 24 years on record. If you are watching for access, flooding, or fishable conditions, the day-to-day median tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual level for this date, not just how high the staff gage reads.
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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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
