WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Yellow Grass Ditch near Yellow Grass in SK, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Yellow Grass Ditch near Yellow Grass is in the Upper Souris watershed in Saskatchewan.
Spring is the main high-water season here. The typical monthly high is in April at 0.76 m (2.49 ft), while the typical low is in September at 0.32 m (1.05 ft). That gives a typical annual swing of 43.9 cm (17.3 in), which is enough to matter for small crossings, pump intakes, and any bank-side setup that stays in place through the open-water season.
For people watching water levels day to day, the seasonal pattern is the main reference point. Water is usually higher in spring, then trends lower through summer and into early fall. In prairie systems, that means the stretch from spring to late summer often gives the longest recession to plan around.
The record high is 4.42 m (14.5 ft), set in April 2011. The record low is 0.09 m (0.3 ft), set in July 2017. Those two ends show how far this ditch can move over time, from a high-water event in spring to a very low summer reading.
The fastest 24-hour rise on record is 1.49 m (4.9 ft), in May 2012. That is the number to keep in mind for warning time: this water can change quickly enough to matter over one day. The fastest 24-hour drop is 60.6 cm (23.9 in), in April 2023, so sharp reversals are part of the record too.
The hero number on this page is the current reading, compared with the median for the same calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether today is typical for this date, high for the season, or running low against the station’s own history.
This station has 69 years on record, so the calendar-day median is grounded in a long local history. Water Survey of Canada data are the right frame for that comparison.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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