Waubonsee Creek near Oswego Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Waubonsee Creek near Oswego in IL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IL, United States
- Watershed lower fox
- Primary gauge 05551545 (USGS)
About Waubonsee Creek near Oswego
Waubonsee Creek near Oswego sits in the Lower Fox watershed in Illinois.
Season by season
This creek is lowest in October, when the typical level is 7.76 ft (2.37 m), and highest in May, when the typical level is 8.17 ft (2.49 m). The typical annual swing is 4.9 in (12.5 cm), so the seasonal range is modest on this record, but it still matters for docks, intakes, and crossings that sit close to the margin.
For people using the creek, that means spring is the time to watch for the higher side of the normal cycle, while autumn usually brings the lower side. In prairie-midwest hydrology, winter-spring rain and melt floods dominate, and slow flat-land drainage can keep water high longer than expected. Summer recessions are part of the pattern, so lower stages in the warm season are not unusual.
Records and rises
The record high is 13.17 ft (4.01 m) in October 2017. The record low is 7.25 ft (2.21 m) in October 2020. That spread is a useful reminder that October can produce both the lowest and the highest ends of the station record.
The record high sits well above the typical May level of 8.17 ft (2.49 m), which tells you this site can move beyond its seasonal range when conditions line up. The lowest record, at 7.25 ft (2.21 m), is close to the typical October level of 7.76 ft (2.37 m), so fall lows at this station have stayed near the usual seasonal floor.
The fastest 24-hour rise is not provided in the facts, so there is nothing here to add on warning time.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is the current reading set against the median for this calendar day from the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it shows whether the creek is running high or low for the date, not just where it sits above sea level or an arbitrary datum.
This is a USGS station with more than 14 years on record. For a local reader, that comparison helps separate a normal seasonal stage from something that deserves attention on the bank, at a crossing, or near a pump intake.
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.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
