Illinois reference

Illinois Lake Levels and River Gauges

Dated Corps readings for Carlyle, Rend and Shelbyville, live USGS lake gauges, and NOAA river and pool readings.

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Corps lakes

USACE St. Louis District readings for 3 Illinois lakes

One dated reading from each lake’s St. Louis District forecast page, report issued Wednesday, 04 November 2026 08:37. These are not live figures; elevations are in feet as printed, and the page prints no datum. Inflow and outflow are day-second-feet as printed.

Lake	Pool	Inflow, DSF	Outflow, DSF	Reading
Carlyle Lake	444.82 ft	170	70	Wed 04-Nov 06:00 2026
Rend Lake	403.58 ft	140	30	Wed 04-Nov 06:00 2026
Lake Shelbyville	599.28 ft	130	70	Wed 04-Nov 06:00 2026

USACE St. Louis District forecast page, report issued Wednesday, 04 November 2026 08:37 (one dated reading, not live; feet as printed, datum not printed; DSF = day-second-feet).

USGS lake gauges

Live USGS readings on Illinois lakes and Lake Michigan

Lake	Level	Reading	Source
Lake Michigan at Chicago Lock at Chicago	0.24 ft	Nov 5, 2026	USGS 04087440 (gage height)
Lake Tranquility	4.06 ft	Nov 5, 2026	USGS 05547000 (gage height)
Fox Chain O' Lakes	4.01 ft	Nov 5, 2026	USGS 05547500 (gage height)
Fox Chain O' Lakes	3.97 ft	Nov 5, 2026	USGS 05548000 (gage height)
Nippersink Lake (LCFPD)	n/a

NOAA station 9087044 (Calumet Harbor) read 578.556 ft above IGLD 1985 at 2026-11-04 14:30 local (LST/LDT).

USGS provisional data, refreshed hourly by the site; NOAA Calumet Harbor as a dated reading.

Big rivers

NOAA readings on the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio rivers

Gauge	Stage or pool	Flow	Flood category	Read (UTC)
Illinois River at Dresden Lock (tailwater)	483.4 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Illinois River at Morris	5.11 ft	4.91 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River at Ottawa	458.73 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Illinois River at Marseilles Lock (tailwater)	459.23 ft	2.6 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Illinois River at Marseilles	11.2 ft	3.9 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River at Starved Rock Lock (tailwater)	441.3 ft	4.25 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Illinois River near La Salle	11.36 ft	5.16 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River at Seneca	20.47 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River near Henry	14.75 ft	4.71 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River at Chillicothe	440.38 ft	–	not defined	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Illinois River at Peoria	11.85 ft	5.23 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River at Peoria Lock and Dam	431.86 ft	5.24 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 16:00:00 UTC
Illinois River at Kingston Mines	3.52 ft	6.47 kcfs	not defined	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River at Copperas Creek	3.25 ft	6.91 kcfs	not defined	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River near Havana	5.96 ft	6.18 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River at Beardstown	9.55 ft	6.41 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Illinois River at LaGrange Lock and Dam	7.66 ft	9.02 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Illinois River at Meredosia	2.85 ft	10.8 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Illinois River at Valley City	2.34 ft	7.18 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 19:00:00 UTC
Illinois River at Hardin	19.32 ft	8.18 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Dubuque (LD11)	5.93 ft	41.4 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Dubuque (Railroad Bridge)	8.48 ft	42.6 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Bellevue	6.02 ft	41.7 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Fulton	5.86 ft	44.5 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Camanche	9.93 ft	55.8 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at LeClaire	5.16 ft	44.4 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Rock Island	5.98 ft	49.7 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River above Fairport	10.41 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Illinois City	4.55 ft	47.3 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Muscatine	6.8 ft	53 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:15:00 UTC
Mississippi River at New Boston	6.7 ft	62.7 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:40:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Keithsburg	7.95 ft	70 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Gladstone	4.19 ft	81.7 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Burlington	10.11 ft	81 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Fort Madison	526.19 ft	106 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Keokuk	6.31 ft	87.3 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:40:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Gregory Landing	8.46 ft	100 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Canton Lock and Dam 20	7.54 ft	96.8 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at LaGrange	8.35 ft	4.58 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Quincy	11.89 ft	66.2 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:15:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Quincy Lock and Dam 21	7.21 ft	87.5 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Hannibal	11.32 ft	91.4 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:15:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Saverton Lock and Dam 22	7.89 ft	91.3 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Louisiana	12.29 ft	143 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Clarksville Lock and Dam 24	17.61 ft	86.6 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Mozier Landing	35.98 ft	–	not defined	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Winfield Lock and Dam 25	16.79 ft	78.4 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Grafton	15.35 ft	118 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Alton	18.59 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Mel Price (Alton) Lock and Dam	6.28 ft	103 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at St. Louis	5.3 ft	143 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Herculaneum	2.66 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Chester	8.12 ft	140 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River above Red Rock Landing	11.6 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 19:00:00 UTC
Mississippi River above Grand Tower	12.85 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River above Moccasin Springs	11.61 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau	12.76 ft	131 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River at Thebes	11.55 ft	139 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 19:00:00 UTC
Mississippi River above Commerce	7.26 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River above Price Landing	2.16 ft	114 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 19:00:00 UTC
Mississippi River above Birds Point	9.55 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Mississippi River above Wickliffe	11.59 ft	–	not defined	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Ohio River at Evansville	14.72 ft	63.6 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Ohio River at Henderson	13.05 ft	65.7 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:45:00 UTC
Ohio River at J.T. Myers Lock and Dam	14.07 ft	74.4 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Ohio River at Shawneetown	15.32 ft	68.2 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:30:00 UTC
Ohio River at Golconda	29.9 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Ohio River at Olmsted Lock and Dam Headwater	22.75 ft	–	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Ohio River at Olmsted Lock and Dam Tailwater	15.17 ft	–	not defined	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Ohio River at Smithland Lock and Dam	12.79 ft	71.6 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 19:00:00 UTC
Ohio River at Paducah	15.95 ft	89.1 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC
Ohio River at Cairo	12.64 ft	210 kcfs	no flooding	2026-11-05 18:00:00 UTC

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge readings (water.noaa.gov), read November 5, 2026; dated readings, not live (kcfs = thousand cubic feet per second).

Other rivers

More Illinois rivers with NOAA forecast gauges

Fox River12 gauges

Des Plaines River11 gauges

Rock River9 gauges

Kaskaskia River9 gauges

Salt Creek (IL)9 gauges

Sangamon River8 gauges

Wabash River6 gauges

Big Muddy River4 gauges

Embarras River (IL)4 gauges

Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal4 gauges

North Branch Chicago River4 gauges

Mill Creek (IL)3 gauges

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge readings (water.noaa.gov), read November 5, 2026; dated readings, not live (kcfs = thousand cubic feet per second).

River pages

Illinois rivers and pools carrying a USGS station

Apple River1 gauge
Big Muddy River3 gauges
Bonpas Creek1 gauge
Cache River1 gauge
Calumet River1 gauge
Chicago River8 gauges
Crab Orchard Creek1 gauge
Des Plaines River12 gauges
DuPage River1 gauge
East Branch Du Page River2 gauges
East Fork Kaskaskia River1 gauge
Edwards River1 gauge
Embarras River4 gauges
Fox River12 gauges
Green River (Henry County)1 gauge
Illinois River10 gauges
Illinois River, Alton Pool3 gauges
Illinois River, LaGrange Pool2 gauges
Illinois River, Marseilles Pool3 gauges
Illinois River, Peoria Pool1 gauge
Illinois River, Starved Rock Pool1 gauge
Iroquois River2 gauges
Kankakee River4 gauges
Kaskaskia River11 gauges
Kishwaukee River5 gauges
La Moine River2 gauges
Little Calumet River1 gauge
Little Wabash River5 gauges
Mackinaw River3 gauges
Mazon River1 gauge
Middle Fork Saline River1 gauge
Middle Fork Vermilion River1 gauge
Mississippi River4 gauges
Mississippi River, Open River1 gauge
Mississippi River, Pool 131 gauge
Mississippi River, Pool 262 gauges
North Branch Chicago River2 gauges
North Fork Embarras River1 gauge
North Fork Vermilion River (Vermilion County)1 gauge
Ohio River7 gauges
Ohio River, Olmsted Pool2 gauges
Ohio River, Open River2 gauges
Ohio River, Smithland Pool3 gauges
Pecatonica River2 gauges
Rock River9 gauges
Rock River, Dixon Pool1 gauge
Rock River, Fordham Pool4 gauges
Rock River, Milan Pool1 gauge
Rock River, Oregon Pool1 gauge
Rock River, Sterling Pool2 gauges
Saline River2 gauges
Sangamon River9 gauges
Sinsinawa River1 gauge
Skillet Fork1 gauge
Skokie River2 gauges
South Branch Kishwaukee River (McHenry County)2 gauges
South Branch Kishwaukee River (Winnebago County)2 gauges
South Fork Saline River1 gauge
South Fork Sangamon River2 gauges
Spoon River3 gauges
Vermilion River (Illinois River basin)2 gauges
Vermilion River (Wabash River basin)3 gauges
Wabash River8 gauges
West Branch Du Page River3 gauges
West Okaw River1 gauge

USGS instantaneous values, 283 Illinois stream gauges read November 4, 2026.

Photos

Prairie water pictured beside Illinois Lake Levels and River Gauges

Montrose Harbor, Illinois — Montrose Harbor
Photo: Alaina McDavid, CC BY-SA 2.0

Illinois River, Illinois — Illinois River
Photo: Richie Diesterheft, CC BY-SA 2.0

Diversey Harbor, Illinois — Diversey Harbor
Photo: edward stojakovic, CC BY 2.0

Ohio River, Illinois — Ohio River
Photo: Gary Todd, CC0 1.0

Answers

Illinois lake level and river gauge questions

Which Illinois lakes show a Corps reading here?

3: Carlyle Lake, Rend Lake and Lake Shelbyville, from the USACE St. Louis District forecast pages.

Are the Corps readings live?

No; each is one dated reading from a report issued Wednesday, 04 November 2026 08:37. Follow the source link for the newest page.

What does DSF mean?

Day-second-feet, the unit the St. Louis District pages print for inflow and outflow.

Which vertical datum sits behind the St. Louis District feet?

The forecast pages do not print one, so none is added here.

How many USGS lake stations stream live on this Illinois page?

5 reporting USGS lake gauges, including Lake Michigan at the Chicago Lock.

Are the NOAA river readings live?

No; each prints with the UTC time NOAA read it, from the National Water Prediction Service.

Where are river flows?

On each river and pool page with a USGS gauge; 65 pages have one.

How many NOAA gauges cover Illinois rivers here?

277, 72 of them on the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio.