Bulkley River near Smithers water level

Name: Bulkley River near Smithers 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, Bulkley River, British Columbia, Canada

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Water level

3.21m Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 19, 2026, 12:55 PM PDT (58 min ago)

Flow: 129 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

The gauge at Bulkley River near Smithers reads 3.21 m, a normal level for mid-October.

That puts it 0.13 m above the median of 3.08 m for mid-October, based on 15 years of readings.

The level is falling, down 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 2.83 m and 3.25 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: 3.08 m0.13 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date: 2.75 m – 3.65 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (15 years of records)
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 2.83 m – 3.25 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 2.83 m – 3.24 m

Conditions at Bulkley River near Smithers

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 Bulkley River

The Bulkley River in British Columbia is a major tributary of the Skeena River. The Bulkley is 257 kilometres (160 mi) long with a drainage basin covering 12,400 square kilometres (4,800 mi2).

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 7.5 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

19 Mon 9° 0° 0.4 mm, 71% Wind 6 km/h

20 Tue 9° -1° – Wind 6 km/h

21 Wed 7° 2° 0.9 mm, 41% Wind 4 km/h

22 Thu 8° -1° – Wind 4 km/h

23 Fri 6° -2° – Wind 4 km/h

24 Sat 6° 0° – Wind 12 km/h

25 Sun 5° -1° – Wind 4 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 08:06 AM Sunset 06:22 PM Daylight 10 hr, 16 min First quarter 62%

Map

Other gauges on the Bulkley River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Bulkley River at QuickRiver gauge, Bulkley River	0.57 m	Normal	±0	23 km
Bulkley River near HoustonRiver gauge, Bulkley River	0.55 m	Normal	−0.01 m	49 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Simpson Creek at the MouthRiver gauge, Simpson Creek	0.41 m	Normal	−0.02 m	6.4 km
Goathorn Creek near TelkwaRiver gauge, Goathorn Creek	1.31 m	Very high	−0.01 m	13 km
M3 Creek near SmithersRiver gauge, M3 Creek	3.09 m	High	−0.01 m	22 km
Telkwa River below Tsai CreekRiver gauge, Telkwa River	0.75 m	Normal	−0.05 m	30 km
Buck Creek at the MouthRiver gauge, Buck Creek	0.41 m	Normal	±0	52 km
Thautil Corner Creek near Morice LakeRiver gauge, Thautil Corner Creek	1.24 m	Low	±0	59 km
Babine Lake at Topley LandingLake, Babine Lake	0.94 m	Normal	±0	63 km
Two Mile Creek in District Lot 4834River gauge, Two Mile Creek	0.33 m	Normal	±0	66 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for the Bulkley River near Smithers in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 3.08 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 2.75 m and 3.65 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 3.21 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Bulkley River near Smithers today?

On Oct 19, 2026, 12:55 PM PDT, the water level was 3.21 m. Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Bulkley River near Smithers rising or falling?

Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.12 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Bulkley River near Smithers 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.

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:08EE005 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 54.76972, -127.13333 (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	3.21 m	2026-10-19 19:55	Provisional
Flow	129 m³/s	2026-10-19 19:55	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Bulkley River near Smithers (eccc:08EE005). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/british-columbia/bulkley-river-near-smithers

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