USGS Instantaneous Values API
Real-time streamgage sensor data
api.waterdata.usgs.gov
At a glance
- Region
- United States
- Coverage
- 10,000+ monitoring stations
- Access
- Free
- Category
- Government
- Last updated
- 2025
What's inside
- Real-time Data
- API Access
- Streamflow
- 15-minute intervals
Terms explained
What you can do with it
Typical work that data of this type supports.
- 01
Design flows
Estimate 1-in-50 and 1-in-100 year floods for bridges, culverts and spillways.
Because it has: Streamflow
- 02
Low flows
Set environmental flows and check what is left in the river in a dry year.
- 03
Model calibration
Calibrate and test catchment models against observed flow.
Where AI adds value
Ideas for machine learning and AI agents built on this kind of data.
- 01
Flow forecasting
Train LSTM-style models on past records to forecast river levels and flow days ahead.
- 02
Ungauged basins
Combine with catchment data to estimate flow where there is no gauge.
- 03
Automatic QC
Flag gauge errors, shifts and gaps before they reach a report.
Machine access and documentation
Open API
IV API on api.waterdata.usgs.gov
Licence: US federal public domain
Listed in our registry of open water APIs, which WaterDataGPT can query live.
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