Highwood River below Little Bow Canal water level

Name: Highwood River below Little Bow Canal 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, Highwood River, Alberta, Canada

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Water level

1.16m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 19, 2026, 12:05 PM MDT (57 min ago)

Flow: 4.11 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

The Highwood River below Little Bow Canal is at 1.16 m, in the normal range for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 1.12 m, based on 14 years of readings, so the water level is 0.04 m above typical.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 1.12 m and 1.17 m.

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

Compared with 14 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 1.12 m0.04 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date: 0.96 m – 1.25 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (14 years of records)
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 1.12 m – 1.17 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 1.12 m – 1.17 m

On the river

Outside the spring freshet, most rivers settle into a gentler pattern, broken by storms.

Flood advisories come from the provincial river forecast centre.

About the Highwood River

The Highwood River is a tributary of the Bow River in southwestern Alberta, Canada.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

18 Sun 13° -3° – Wind 20 km/h

19 Mon 13° -3° – Wind 10 km/h

20 Tue 10° 1° – Wind 14 km/h

21 Wed 21° 3° – Wind 27 km/h

22 Thu 17° 7° – Wind 19 km/h

23 Fri 10° 2° 6.3 mm, 55% Wind 47 km/h

24 Sat 7° -1° – Wind 38 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 08:05 AM Sunset 06:37 PM Daylight 10 hr, 31 min First quarter 61%

Map

Other gauges on the Highwood River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Highwood River near the MouthRiver gauge, Highwood River	2.29 m	Normal	±0	22 km
Highwood River at Diebel'S RanchRiver gauge, Highwood River	0.80 m	Normal	±0	49 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Little Bow Canal at High RiverCanal gauge, Little Bow Canal	1.26 m	High	+0.04 m	0.3 km
Sheep River at OkotoksRiver gauge, Sheep River	26.05 m	Low	±0	17 km
Pekisko Creek near LongviewRiver gauge, Pekisko Creek	0.63 m	Normal	−0.01 m	27 km
Stimson Creek near PekiskoRiver gauge, Stimson Creek	1.61 m	Very high	±0	27 km
Sheep River at Black DiamondRiver gauge, Sheep River	1.29 m	Very high	±0	29 km
Threepoint Creek near MillarvilleRiver gauge, Threepoint Creek	1.54 m	Normal	±0	35 km
West Arrowwood Creek near EnsignRiver gauge, West Arrowwood Creek	0.66 m	Very high	±0	38 km
Bow River below Carseland DamRiver gauge, Bow River	2.55 m	Normal	−0.02 m	40 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for the Highwood River below Little Bow Canal in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 1.12 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.96 m and 1.25 m, based on 14 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 1.16 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Highwood River below Little Bow Canal today?

On Oct 19, 2026, 12:05 PM MDT, the water level was 1.16 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Highwood River below Little Bow Canal rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Up 0.02 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Highwood River below Little Bow Canal normal?

Normal for mid-October. Compared with 14 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:05BL004 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 50.58563, -113.86936 (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	1.16 m	2026-10-19 18:05	Provisional
Flow	4.11 m³/s	2026-10-19 18:05	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Highwood River below Little Bow Canal (eccc:05BL004). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/alberta/highwood-river-below-little-bow-canal

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