Red Deer River at Drumheller water level

Name: Red Deer River at Drumheller 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, Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada

Directions

Very low for mid-October

Water level

0.63m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 17, 2026, 12:25 PM MDT (2 hours ago)

Flow: 17.2 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

The Red Deer River at Drumheller is running far below normal at 0.63 m.

The median for mid-October is 0.76 m, based on 14 years of readings, so the water level is 0.14 m below typical.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.63 m and 0.77 m.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, and it usually takes a few days of steady rain to change that.

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

Key numbers

Median for this date: 0.76 m0.14 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 0.65 m – 0.91 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (14 years of records)
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 0.63 m – 0.77 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 0.63 m – 0.76 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 Red Deer River

The Red Deer River is a river in Alberta and a small portion of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan River and is part of the larger Saskatchewan / Nelson system that empties into Hudson Bay. Communities located along the Red Deer River include Sundre, Red Deer, Drumheller, and Empress, The city of Brooks, as well as Dinosaur Provincial Park, are also located in the Red Deer River Basin.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

17 Sat 21° 5° – Wind 49 km/h

18 Sun 13° 0° – Wind 13 km/h

19 Mon 12° 2° – Wind 10 km/h

20 Tue 11° 4° – Wind 14 km/h

21 Wed 17° 3° – Wind 25 km/h

22 Thu 13° 3° – Wind 12 km/h

23 Fri 10° 4° – Wind 20 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:59 AM Sunset 06:35 PM Daylight 10 hr, 36 min First quarter 43%

Map

Other gauges on the Red Deer River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Red Deer River at Red DeerRiver gauge, Red Deer River	2.55 m	High	±0	117 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Michichi Creek at DrumhellerRiver gauge, Michichi Creek	1.85 m	Low	±0	0.6 km
Kneehills Creek near DrumhellerRiver gauge, Kneehills Creek	1.98 m	Normal	±0	18 km
Threehills Creek near CarbonRiver gauge, Threehills Creek	1.41 m	Very high	−0.01 m	27 km
Rosebud River at RedlandRiver gauge, Rosebud River	0.24 m	Very low	−0.01 m	28 km
Fish Creek above Little Fish LakeRiver gauge, Fish Creek	1.18 m	Normal	±0	36 km
Bullpound Creek near WattsRiver gauge, Bullpound Creek	0.51 m	Normal	±0	48 km
Renwick Creek near Three HillsRiver gauge, Renwick Creek	0.58 m	Normal	−0.02 m	53 km
Parflesh Creek near ChancellorRiver gauge, Parflesh Creek	0.96 m	Very high	±0	53 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for the Red Deer River at Drumheller in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.76 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.65 m and 0.91 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 0.63 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Red Deer River at Drumheller today?

On Oct 17, 2026, 12:25 PM MDT, the water level was 0.63 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Red Deer River at Drumheller rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Down 0.01 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Red Deer River at Drumheller normal?

Very low 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:05CE001 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 51.46727, -112.71149 (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	0.63 m	2026-10-17 18:25	Provisional
Flow	17.2 m³/s	2026-10-17 18:25	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Red Deer River at Drumheller (eccc:05CE001). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/alberta/red-deer-river-at-drumheller

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