St. Mary River near Lethbridge water level

Name: St. Mary River near Lethbridge 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, St. Mary River, Alberta, Canada

Directions

Very high for mid-October

Water level

1.31m Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 17, 2026, 11:25 PM MDT (2 hours ago)

Flow: 10.3 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

High water at St. Mary River near Lethbridge: the latest reading is 1.31 m, well above normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 1.16 m, based on 14 years of readings, so the water level is 0.15 m above typical.

It is on the way up, by 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. If the rise continues, low-lying paths and riverside parking can go under water. The 30-day range is 1.21 m – 1.52 m.

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

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

Key numbers

Median for this date: 1.16 m0.15 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date: 1.12 m – 1.26 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (14 years of records)
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 1.21 m – 1.52 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 1.22 m – 1.50 m

High water: what to watch for

Fast water is stronger than it looks. Even shallow water across a road can move a car, and riverbanks can be undercut and give way without warning.

Upstream gauges on the same river usually show a rise first, which is a useful early warning.

About the St. Mary River

The Saint Mary River, is a cross-border tributary of the Oldman River, itself a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River. The Saint Mary together with the Belly River and Waterton River drains a small portion of Montana, in the United States, to the Hudson Bay watershed in Canada.

Weather at the gauge

The forecast is not available right now.

Sunrise 07:58 AM Sunset 06:36 PM Daylight 10 hr, 38 min First quarter 47%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Pothole Creek at Russell'S RanchRiver gauge, Pothole Creek	0.54 m	Normal	−0.01 m	1.6 km
Prairie Blood Coulee near LethbridgeRiver gauge, Prairie Blood Coulee	0.63 m	Normal	−0.01 m	7.8 km
Oldman River near LethbridgeRiver gauge, Oldman River	0.40 m	Normal	+0.01 m	15 km
Milk River Ridge ReservoirReservoir	1,031.99 m	High	+0.02 m	28 km
Piyami Drain near Picture ButteRiver gauge, Piyami Drain	0.55 m	Normal	−0.03 m	29 km
Magrath Irrigation District Canal near Spring CouleeCanal gauge, Magrath Irrigation District Canal	0.44 m	High	−0.02 m	29 km
Canadian St. Mary Canal near Spring CouleeCanal gauge, Canadian St. Mary Canal	0.36 m	Low	−0.04 m	29 km
St. Mary Reservoir near Spring CouleeReservoir, St. Mary Reservoir	1,095.74 m	High	−0.03 m	30 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for the St. Mary River near Lethbridge in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 1.16 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 1.12 m and 1.26 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 1.31 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of St. Mary River near Lethbridge today?

On Oct 17, 2026, 11:25 PM MDT, the water level was 1.31 m. Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is St. Mary River near Lethbridge rising or falling?

Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.01 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of St. Mary River near Lethbridge normal?

Very high 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:05AE006 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 49.57346, -112.84671 (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	1.31 m	2026-10-18 05:25	Provisional
Flow	10.3 m³/s	2026-10-18 05:25	Provisional

Download

Embed this gauge

Add a live card for this gauge to your website. It updates on its own and links back here.

<iframe src="https://nivelmap.com/embed/20373?lang=en" width="360" height="230" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="St. Mary River near Lethbridge water level"></iframe>

How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: St. Mary River near Lethbridge (eccc:05AE006). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/alberta/st-mary-river-near-lethbridge

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