Bow River at Calgary water level

Name: Bow River at Calgary water level (Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada)
Creator: Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
License: https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada

River gauge, Bow River, Alberta, Canada

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.93m Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 17, 2026, 06:05 AM MDT (30 min ago)

Flow: 56.3 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

The gauge at Bow River at Calgary reads 0.93 m, a normal level for mid-October.

That puts it 0.07 m below the median of 1.00 m for mid-October, based on 15 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.88 m (+0.06 m).

The water is rising: up 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.84 m and 1.13 m.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, until steadier rain returns.

Compared with 15 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 1.00 m0.07 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 0.80 m – 1.13 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (15 years of records)
Same day last year: 0.88 m+0.06 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 0.84 m – 1.13 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 0.75 m – 1.10 m

Conditions at Bow River at Calgary

Paddlers should check the trend as well as the level; summer storms can raise rivers quickly.

Flood advisories come from the provincial river forecast centre.

About the Bow River

The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake has a mean elevation of 2310 metres above sea level. From there, the river winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These waters ultimately flow through the Nelson River into Hudson Bay.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

17 Sat 18° 6° – Wind 47 km/h

18 Sun 11° -1° – Wind 16 km/h

19 Mon 11° 5° – Wind 11 km/h

20 Tue 9° 2° – Wind 12 km/h

21 Wed 14° 0° – Wind 11 km/h

22 Thu 13° 2° – Wind 11 km/h

23 Fri 7° 2° – Wind 27 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 08:03 AM Sunset 06:41 PM Daylight 10 hr, 37 min First quarter 40%

Map

Other gauges on the Bow River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Bow River near CochraneRiver gauge, Bow River	16.33 m	Normal	±0	32 km
Bow River below Carseland DamRiver gauge, Bow River	2.56 m	Normal	−0.02 m	49 km
Bow River at BanffRiver gauge, Bow River	2.01 m	Low	−0.01 m	107 km
Bow River below Bassano DamRiver gauge, Bow River	1.40 m	Normal	−0.01 m	111 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Elbow River below Glenmore DamRiver gauge, Elbow River	0.55 m	Low	+0.09 m	5.1 km
Elbow River at Sarcee BridgeRiver gauge, Elbow River	3.67 m	Normal	±0	10 km
West Nose Creek at CalgaryRiver gauge, West Nose Creek	5.40 m	Normal	±0	17 km
Fish Creek near PriddisRiver gauge, Fish Creek	2.23 m	Low	−0.01 m	27 km
Nose Creek above AirdrieRiver gauge, Nose Creek	8.44 m	Very low	−0.01 m	29 km
Highwood River near the MouthRiver gauge, Highwood River	2.30 m	Normal	+0.03 m	34 km
Threepoint Creek near MillarvilleRiver gauge, Threepoint Creek	1.55 m	High	±0	35 km
Sheep River at OkotoksRiver gauge, Sheep River	26.05 m	Low	±0	37 km

Questions and answers

How does the Bow River at Calgary compare with last year?

It is 0.06 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.88 m.

What is a normal level for the Bow River at Calgary in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 1.00 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.80 m and 1.13 m, based on 15 years of records.

Is the river level the same as the depth of the water?

No. The reading is measured from a fixed zero mark at the gauge, so 0.93 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Bow River at Calgary today?

On Oct 17, 2026, 06:05 AM MDT, the water level was 0.93 m. Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Bow River at Calgary rising or falling?

Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.09 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Bow River at Calgary normal?

Normal for mid-October. Compared with 15 years of daily readings for this time of year.

How often is this data updated?

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada publishes a new reading every hour. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
Station code: eccc:05BH004 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 51.05027, -114.05146 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: station datum (assumed datum)
Update interval: every hour
Licence: Open Government Licence – Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Water level	0.93 m	2026-10-17 12:05	Provisional
Flow	56.3 m³/s	2026-10-17 12:05	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Bow River at Calgary (eccc:05BH004). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/alberta/bow-river-at-calgary

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer