Every gauged lake on this site now shows current sensor readings pulled directly from USGS.
Lake pages now display live readings from US Geological Survey monitoring stations where a station exists on the water body. Depending on the station, that includes gage height, water temperature, and turbidity.
These are direct sensor readings, not estimates and not modeled figures. The timestamp on each reading shows when the sensor reported. Where a reading is more than thirty days old, the page flags it, because stations do go offline and stale data presented as current is worse than no data.
A single reading tells you very little. The value is in the history, which is why each gauged lake also shows a trend chart pulled from daily values. Look at the seasonal shape: when the lake fills, when it draws down, and how consistent that pattern has been.
A gauge measures the lake at the gauge. Water depth at a specific dock depends on local bathymetry and can differ substantially from the gauge reading. Use the gauge to understand the lake's behavior, then verify depth at the specific property.
Not every lake has a gauge. Where none exists, the page says so plainly and the level figures shown come from published lake management data instead of a live sensor.
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