Bow River below Carseland Dam water level

Name: Bow River below Carseland Dam 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

2.56m Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 17, 2026, 12:05 PM MDT (53 min ago)

Flow: 74.6 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

The gauge at Bow River below Carseland Dam reads 2.56 m, a normal level for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 2.58 m, based on 14 years of readings, so the water level is 0.02 m below typical.

The level is falling, down 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 2.48 m and 2.63 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: 2.58 m0.02 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 2.41 m – 2.66 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (14 years of records)
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 2.48 m – 2.63 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 2.52 m – 2.62 m

Conditions at Bow River below Carseland Dam

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 19° 6° – Wind 44 km/h

18 Sun 12° -2° – Wind 20 km/h

19 Mon 11° 2° – Wind 11 km/h

20 Tue 10° 3° – Wind 15 km/h

21 Wed 15° 2° – Wind 17 km/h

22 Thu 13° 3° – Wind 11 km/h

23 Fri 8° 2° – Wind 21 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 08:01 AM Sunset 06:39 PM Daylight 10 hr, 38 min First quarter 42%

Map

Other gauges on the Bow River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Bow River at CalgaryRiver gauge, Bow River	0.93 m	Normal	+0.03 m	49 km
Bow River below Bassano DamRiver gauge, Bow River	1.40 m	Normal	+0.01 m	64 km
Bow River near CochraneRiver gauge, Bow River	16.33 m	Normal	+0.01 m	81 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Bow River Development Main Canal below HeadgatesCanal gauge, Bow River Development Main Canal	0.00 m³/s	Normal	±0	1.0 km
West Arrowwood Creek near ArrowwoodRiver gauge, West Arrowwood Creek	0.26 m	Low	±0	16 km
Highwood River near the MouthRiver gauge, Highwood River	2.29 m	Normal	+0.03 m	27 km
West Arrowwood Creek near EnsignRiver gauge, West Arrowwood Creek	0.67 m	Very high	±0	35 km
Sheep River at OkotoksRiver gauge, Sheep River	26.05 m	Low	±0	39 km
Highwood River below Little Bow CanalRiver gauge, Highwood River	1.16 m	Normal	±0	40 km
Little Bow Canal at High RiverCanal gauge, Little Bow Canal	1.22 m	Normal	±0	40 km
Parflesh Creek near ChancellorRiver gauge, Parflesh Creek	0.96 m	Very high	±0	46 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for the Bow River below Carseland Dam in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 2.58 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 2.41 m and 2.66 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 2.56 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Bow River below Carseland Dam today?

On Oct 17, 2026, 12:05 PM MDT, the water level was 2.56 m. Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Bow River below Carseland Dam rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Bow River below Carseland Dam 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:05BM002 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 50.82282, -113.44483 (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	2.56 m	2026-10-17 18:05	Provisional
Flow	74.6 m³/s	2026-10-17 18:05	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Bow River below Carseland Dam (eccc:05BM002). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/alberta/bow-river-below-carseland-dam

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