Sheep River at Okotoks water level

Name: Sheep River at Okotoks 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, Sheep River, Alberta, Canada

Directions

Low for mid-October

Water level

26.05m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 17, 2026, 09:30 AM MDT (2 hours ago)

Flow: 2.78 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

At 26.05 m, the Sheep River at Okotoks is below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.03 m below the median of 26.09 m for mid-October, based on 14 years of readings.

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 25.89 m and 26.20 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: 26.09 m0.03 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 26.02 m – 26.25 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (14 years of records)
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 25.89 m – 26.20 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 26.06 m – 26.20 m

Conditions at Sheep River at Okotoks

Low water means shallow riffles on canoe trips and warmer water for fish.

Flood advisories come from the provincial river forecast centre.

About the Sheep River

The Sheep River is located in southwestern Alberta, Canada, and is part of the Bow River watershed. The river begins in the mountain valleys of Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park, passes through Sheep River Provincial Park, and joins the Highwood River about 8 km east of Okotoks. The Sheep River provides drinking water for the towns of Diamond Valley, and Okotoks.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

17 Sat 18° 5° – Wind 38 km/h

18 Sun 11° -2° – Wind 25 km/h

19 Mon 11° 4° – Wind 9 km/h

20 Tue 10° 2° – Wind 12 km/h

21 Wed 17° 1° – Wind 11 km/h

22 Thu 13° 3° – Wind 11 km/h

23 Fri 8° 2° – Wind 21 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 08:03 AM Sunset 06:41 PM Daylight 10 hr, 38 min First quarter 42%

Map

Other gauges on the Sheep River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Sheep River at Black DiamondRiver gauge, Sheep River	1.29 m	Very high	±0	20 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Highwood River near the MouthRiver gauge, Highwood River	2.29 m	Normal	+0.03 m	12 km
Highwood River below Little Bow CanalRiver gauge, Highwood River	1.16 m	Normal	+0.03 m	17 km
Little Bow Canal at High RiverCanal gauge, Little Bow Canal	1.23 m	Normal	−0.35 m	17 km
Threepoint Creek near MillarvilleRiver gauge, Threepoint Creek	1.55 m	High	±0	22 km
Fish Creek near PriddisRiver gauge, Fish Creek	2.22 m	Low	−0.01 m	31 km
Pekisko Creek near LongviewRiver gauge, Pekisko Creek	0.64 m	Normal	−0.01 m	32 km
Elbow River at Sarcee BridgeRiver gauge, Elbow River	3.67 m	Normal	±0	33 km
Elbow River below Glenmore DamRiver gauge, Elbow River	0.55 m	Low	+0.09 m	33 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for the Sheep River at Okotoks in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 26.09 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 26.02 m and 26.25 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 26.05 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Sheep River at Okotoks today?

On Oct 17, 2026, 09:30 AM MDT, the water level was 26.05 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Sheep River at Okotoks rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Sheep River at Okotoks normal?

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:05BL012 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 50.72389, -113.97347 (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	26.05 m	2026-10-17 15:30	Provisional
Flow	2.78 m³/s	2026-10-17 15:30	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Sheep River at Okotoks (eccc:05BL012). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/alberta/sheep-river-at-okotoks

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