Transparency

Data Sources

What is connected, what it is used for, and what still needs a reliable source before Driftless Currents will call it live.

Registry

Source inventory

Conditions and editorial guidance are intentionally separated. A connected feed can still be temporarily unavailable, which is why the site also has a live status page.

River

DBQI4 — Mississippi River at Dubuque

Connected

Provider: NOAA / National Water Prediction Service
Update cadence: Cached 15 minutes
Used for: River stage, 24-hour stage change, seven-day stage trend, and flow when supplied by the feed.

Observed gauge data is used when available; the site falls back rather than failing hard.

River

Lock & Dam 12 / Bellevue RiverGages

Connected

Provider: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Rock Island District
Update cadence: Cached 10 minutes
Used for: Representative Pool 12 water temperature at Lock & Dam 12.

A single station is representative of its location and does not imply identical water temperature throughout Pool 12.

Weather

National Weather Service API

Connected

Provider: National Weather Service
Update cadence: Observations cached 5 minutes; forecasts 15 minutes
Used for: Temperature, wind, gust context, pressure, visibility, precipitation probability, and hourly forecast.

Nearest available observation station is used where an observation is available; forecast values provide fallback context.

Weather

National Weather Service Forecast Grid

Connected

Provider: National Weather Service
Update cadence: Cached 15 minutes
Used for: Sky-cover percentage.

Forecast-grid cloud cover is used as an outdoor-condition input.

Astronomy

One-Day Sun & Moon Data

Connected

Provider: U.S. Naval Observatory
Update cadence: Cached 6 hours
Used for: Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset.

Times are requested for the Pool 12 representative coordinate and Central Time.

Navigation

Rock Island District Lock Status

Connected

Provider: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Rock Island District
Update cadence: Cached 30 minutes
Used for: Lock & Dam 12 open / closed status.

This status is not a lock-delay estimate.

Navigation

Notices to Navigation Interests

Connected

Provider: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Update cadence: Cached 15 minutes
Used for: Pool 12-matching navigation notices, restrictions, dredging, hazards, and closures.

The Rock Island District feed is filtered for Pool 12 references and nearby river-mile context.

Access

Boat-ramp condition reports

Not connected

Provider: Future official / owner / moderated local source
Update cadence: Not connected
Used for: Ramp, dock, parking, fee, and access-condition updates.

Current ramp cards are not connected to a verified live source.

Navigation

Railroad bridge operational status

Not connected

Provider: Future verified source
Update cadence: Not connected
Used for: Operational status relevant to local navigation.

The site does not infer or fabricate bridge status.

Hunting

Local waterfowl migration / bird counts

Not connected

Provider: Future verified field-report source
Update cadence: Not connected
Used for: Verified local migration counts and field observations.

Waterfowl scores currently describe weather setup, not live bird numbers.