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Root River at Sault Ste. Marie water level

River gauge, Root River, Ontario, Canada

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Right now

Very high for late September

Water level

13.00m Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours

This gauge last reported 20 days ago. The value may be out of date; check the agency page before you rely on it.

11.5 12.0 12.5 13.0

History

History
111213mSep 18Sep 21Sep 23Sep 26Sep 28111213mSep 18Sep 23Sep 28
11.512.012.513.0mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Sep 202611.512.012.513.0mOct 2025Apr 2026Sep 2026
Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

The Root River at Sault Ste. Marie is well above normal at 13.00 m. That reading is from Sep 28, 2026, 07:00 AM EDT, so the gauge may be offline or reporting late.

The median for late September is 11.70 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the water level is 1.30 m above typical. On the same day last year the reading was 11.65 m, a difference of +1.35 m.

It has dropped 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 10.95 m and 13.42 m.

That stands out in fall, when many rivers are usually near their lowest.

Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date
11.70 m1.30 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date
11.53 m – 11.99 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Same day last year
11.65 m+1.35 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
10.95 m – 13.42 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
11.49 m – 13.03 m

Flood levels and safety

A high reading on its own does not mean property is at risk. The warnings issued by the provincial river forecast centre take local defences and the forecast into account.

Readings can change quickly after heavy rain upstream, so check again before heading near the water.

About the Root River

Root River (Kenora District)

The Root River is a river in the Unorganized Part of Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The river is part of the Hudson Bay drainage basin, is a tributary of Lac Seul, and serves as the conduit for waters diverted from Lake St. Joseph, the source of the Albany River in the adjacent James Bay drainage basin.

Read more on Wikipedia

Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 23 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 14° 5° – Wind 24 km/h
19 Mon 15° 5° – Wind 11 km/h
20 Tue 14° 5° – Wind 15 km/h
21 Wed 17° 5° – Wind 17 km/h
22 Thu 15° 6° – Wind 10 km/h
23 Fri 11° 2° – Wind 17 km/h
24 Sat 14° 6° 5.4 mm Wind 22 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:59 AM Sunset 06:47 PM Daylight 10 hr, 47 min First quarter 51%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie, OntarioRiver gauge, St. Marys River 74,700 cfs Normal −6,800.0 cfs 4.7 mi
St. Marys River near Garden RiverRiver gauge, St. Marys River 24.13 m Normal +0.10 m 12 km
Big Carp River near Sault Ste. MarieRiver gauge, Big Carp River 2.45 m Normal −0.05 m 15 km
Goulais River near Kirby'S CornerRiver gauge, Goulais River 2.71 m Very low −0.01 m 17 km
Goulais River near SearchmontRiver gauge, Goulais River 7.38 m Low −0.04 m 41 km
Thessalon River near Poplar DaleRiver gauge, Thessalon River 1.91 m Low −0.02 m 44 km
Pine River near RudyardRiver gauge, Pine River 1.21 ft Below flood stage −0.17 ft 30 mi
Batchawana River near BatchawanaRiver gauge, Batchawana River 2.19 m Low −0.01 m 52 km

Questions and answers

Is the Root River at Sault Ste. Marie higher than last year?

Yes, it is 1.35 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 11.65 m.

What is a normal level for the Root River at Sault Ste. Marie in late September?

The median for late September is 11.70 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 11.53 m and 11.99 m, based on 21 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 13.00 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Root River at Sault Ste. Marie today?

On Sep 28, 2026, 07:00 AM EDT, the water level was 13.00 m. Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Root River at Sault Ste. Marie rising or falling?

Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours. Up 1.45 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Root River at Sault Ste. Marie normal?

Very high for late September. Compared with 21 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.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
Station code
eccc:02CA002 (Agency page)
Coordinates
46.56286, -84.28169 (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

ParameterLast valueTime (UTC)Quality
Water level 13.00 m 2026-09-28 11:00 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Root River at Sault Ste. Marie (eccc:02CA002). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/ontario/root-river-at-sault-ste-marie

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.