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SwedenCowichan River near Duncan water level
River gauge, Cowichan River, British Columbia, Canada
Right now
Low for mid-October
Water level
- Flow
- 9.57 m³/s
History
What this means
At 0.30 m, the Cowichan River near Duncan is below normal for mid-October.
That puts it 0.48 m below the median of 0.78 m for mid-October, based on 15 years of readings.
The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.18 m and 0.32 m.
Fall is often low-water season on rivers, and it usually takes a few days of steady rain to change that.
Compared with 15 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels
Key numbers
- Median for this date
- 0.78 m0.48 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.29 m – 1.36 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (15 years of records)
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.18 m – 0.32 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.19 m – 0.31 m
Conditions at Cowichan River near Duncan
Low water means shallow riffles on canoe trips and warmer water for fish.
Flood advisories come from the provincial river forecast centre.
About the Cowichan River
The Cowichan River is a Canadian Heritage River on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Its headwater is Cowichan Lake. The river flows east over Skutz Falls and through Marie Canyon towards its mouth at Cowichan Bay. The river's drainage basin is 795 square kilometres (307 sq mi) in size.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 2.9 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on the Cowichan River
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowichan River at Lake CowichanRiver gauge, Cowichan River | 0.30 m | Very low | ±0 | 25 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bings Creek near the MouthRiver gauge, Bings Creek | 1.36 m | Very low | +0.01 m | 2.0 km |
| Koksilah River at Cowichan StationRiver gauge, Koksilah River | 0.48 m | Very low | ±0 | 5.8 km |
| Chemainus River near WestholmeRiver gauge, Chemainus River | 0.61 m | Normal | ±0 | 12 km |
| Cowichan Lake near Lake CowichanLake, Cowichan Lake | 0.52 m | Low | ±0 | 26 km |
| Nanaimo River near CassidyRiver gauge, Nanaimo River | 0.69 m | Low | ±0 | 35 km |
| Garbage Creek near the MouthRiver gauge, Garbage Creek | 0.32 m | Low | ±0 | 36 km |
| Harris Creek near Lake CowichanRiver gauge, Harris Creek | 1.34 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 38 km |
| Cottonwood Creek HeadwatersRiver gauge | 0.65 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 43 km |
Questions and answers
What is a normal level for the Cowichan River near Duncan in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.78 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.29 m and 1.36 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 0.30 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Cowichan River near Duncan today?
On Oct 19, 2026, 08:20 PM PDT, the water level was 0.30 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Cowichan River near Duncan rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours. Up 0.06 m over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Cowichan River near Duncan normal?
Low 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.
Where does this data come from?
The values come directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada, the official operator of this gauge, and are published under the Open Government Licence – Canada. We do not estimate or model live values.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
- Station code
eccc:08HA011(Agency page)- Coordinates
48.77308, -123.71447(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 | 0.30 m | 2026-10-20 03:20 | Provisional |
| Flow | 9.57 m³/s | 2026-10-20 03:20 | Provisional |
Download
Embed this gauge
Add a live card for this gauge to your website. It updates on its own and links back here.
How to cite
Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Cowichan River near Duncan (eccc:08HA011). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/british-columbia/cowichan-river-near-duncan
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