Willamette River below Falls, at Oregon City Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Willamette River below Falls, at Oregon City in OR, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location OR, United States
- Watershed middle willamette
- Primary gauge 14207770 (USGS)
About Willamette River below Falls, at Oregon City
The Willamette River below Falls, at Oregon City is a gauged river in the Middle Willamette watershed, Oregon.
Season by season
At this station, the river is usually highest in January at 12.35 ft (3.76 m) and lowest in September at 4.56 ft (1.39 m). That spread matters for docks, intakes, and boats: the channel here moves through a typical annual swing of 7.8 ft (2.37 m), so a setup that works in winter may sit much higher above the water by late summer.
The station drains 10,000 sq mi (25,900 km2) upstream of the gauge. For people living or fishing here, that means the reading reflects a large upstream area, not just the reach beside town. In a Pacific Northwest river, a January high fits the seasonal pattern you expect west of the Cascades, while September is the month to watch for lower water.
Records and rises
This site has about 50 years of record. Within that span, the river reached 36.22 ft (11.04 m) in January 1997 and fell to 2.7 ft (0.82 m) in July 2001.
Those two marks show the range this reach has already seen. If you use the river for access, pumping, or shoreline work, the record high sets the upper end of what the gauge has carried, while the record low shows how far the water can drop in a dry stretch. The contrast between 36.22 ft (11.04 m) and 2.7 ft (0.82 m) is a direct reminder to plan for a wide operating envelope.
Reading the hero number
USGS uses today’s reading against the median for this calendar day across about 50 years of record. That is better than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is running high or low for this date, not just how many feet are on the gauge.
For this station, that context is especially useful because the river has a clear seasonal range: January is usually the high month, September the low month. Comparing today with the day-of-year median shows where the water stands within that normal cycle, which is the figure that matters most for daily decisions on the river.
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
