West Branch Brandywine Creek at Modena Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for West Branch Brandywine Creek at Modena in PA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location PA, United States
- Watershed brandywine christina
- Primary gauge 01480617 (USGS)
About West Branch Brandywine Creek at Modena
The watershed
West Branch Brandywine Creek at Modena is in the Brandywine-Christina watershed, Pennsylvania.
This station drains 55 sq mi (142 km2) above the gauge, so the numbers here describe what reaches Modena, not the full watershed downstream. For anyone who lives along the creek or uses it for fishing, that upstream area is the part that controls the local response to rain and melt.
What the numbers say
The record high is 6.89 ft (2.1 m), reached in August 2011. The record low is 2.62 ft (0.8 m), reached in July 2010. That gap matters on a small creek: it is the difference between a channel with room to move water and a channel that can run tight for boats, crossings, and intakes.
Seasonally, the creek is usually highest in March at 3.28 ft (1 m) and lowest in September at 2.96 ft (0.9 m). The typical annual swing is 3.9 in (10 cm). That is a modest seasonal range, but it still tells dock owners, anglers, and anyone with a pump intake what kind of adjustment the creek usually demands over the year.
The region’s rhythm fits the record: winter-spring rain and melt set the annual peaks, while summer low flows are part of the pattern. Late-summer floods can also arrive when tropical remnants move through, so a quiet August or September does not stay that way by default.
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’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone because it tells you whether the creek is running high or low for this date, not just what the staff gage happens to read.
This station is run by the U.S. Geological Survey, and it has more than 50 years on record. For people watching the creek day to day, that record is what gives the comparison meaning: a stage only becomes useful when it is tied to the same day in past years.
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.
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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
