Zekiah Swamp Run near Newtown Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Zekiah Swamp Run near Newtown in MD, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location MD, United States
- Watershed lower potomac
- Primary gauge 01660920 (USGS)
About Zekiah Swamp Run near Newtown
Zekiah Swamp Run near Newtown is in the Lower Potomac watershed in Maryland.
The watershed
The station drains 79.9 sq mi (207 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area that matters here for water level changes at this site, not the whole Lower Potomac.
For people living or fishing along the run, the record shows a narrow seasonal range most years, but a few sharp departures. The highest monthly typical level is in February at 2.07 ft (0.63 m), and the lowest monthly typical level is in September at 1.12 ft (0.34 m). The typical annual swing is 11.5 in (29.1 cm), which is the difference a dock, low crossing, or intake has to handle through the year.
What the numbers say
The record high is 6.15 ft (1.88 m), set in September 2011. The record low is -0.06 ft (-0.02 m), set in October 2019. Those two marks show that this gauge can move outside the usual seasonal band when conditions line up.
The station has 43 years on record. That is enough history to separate the day-to-day noise from the pattern that repeats through the seasons. In this part of the Mid-Atlantic, winter-spring rain floods dominate, tropical remnants bring the extreme events, and summer low flows sit between storms. At this site, the monthly pattern fits that broad rhythm: higher in late winter, lower in late summer.
Reading the hero number
Today’s reading is most useful when set against the median for this calendar day across the full record, not against raw elevation alone. A single elevation can look high or low without telling you whether it is normal for the date; the median for that day shows whether the run is running above, below, or near its usual level for now.
That comparison is what USGS uses for this station’s daily context. With more than 43 years on record, the median-by-date view gives cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers a better read on whether today is ordinary for the season or a departure worth attention.
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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How every number is computed - About the platform
