French River below Portage Dam water level

Name: French River below Portage 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, French River, Ontario, Canada

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Water level

187.93m Up 0.19 m over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 16, 2026, 11:35 AM EDT (2 days ago)

Flow: 89.8 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Water level

What this means

Water levels are unremarkable at French River below Portage Dam, where the gauge shows 187.93 m.

It is on the way up, by 0.19 m over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 186.59 m – 187.92 m.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, until steadier rain returns.

Compared with 5 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Lowest and highest in 30 days: 186.59 m – 187.92 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 187.17 m – 187.90 m

Freshet, ice and paddling

Open-water season is the time for canoe trips and fishing, though rapids change character with every few centimetres of water.

Flood advisories come from the provincial river forecast centre.

About the French River

The French River is a river in Central Ontario, Canada. It flows 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Lake Nipissing southwest to Georgian Bay. The river largely follows the boundary between the Parry Sound District and the Sudbury District, and in most contexts is considered the dividing line between Northern and Southern Ontario. The French River was designated a Canadian Heritage River in 1986.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 13 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 15° 5° – Wind 28 km/h

19 Mon 16° 7° – Wind 19 km/h

20 Tue 13° 3° – Wind 11 km/h

21 Wed 15° 3° – Wind 17 km/h

22 Thu 11° 5° – Wind 17 km/h

23 Fri 9° 2° – Wind 13 km/h

24 Sat 13° 1° – Wind 23 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:42 AM Sunset 06:30 PM Daylight 10 hr, 49 min First quarter 51%

Map

Other gauges on the French River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
French River at Chaudiere DamRiver gauge, French River	187.79 m	Low	±0	0.7 km
French River at Wolseley BayRiver gauge, French River	186.77 m	Normal	+0.01 m	19 km
French River at Horseshoe FallsRiver gauge, French River	9.83 m³/s	Very low	+1.49 m³/s	38 km
French River at Little French CutRiver gauge, French River	1.19 m³/s	Very low	+0.45 m³/s	42 km
French River at Dry Pine BayRiver gauge, French River	1.00 m	Normal	+0.06 m	46 km
French River at Recollet FallsRiver gauge, French River	94.1 m³/s	Very low	+8.00 m³/s	47 km
French River at Hartley BayRiver gauge, French River	177.52 m	Low	+0.07 m	58 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Little French River at Okikendawt IslandRiver gauge, Little French River	18.5 m³/s	Normal	−0.40 m³/s	4.7 km
Dollars Lake below S NarrowsLake, Dollars Lake	7.60 m	Very low	±0	28 km
Veuve River near VernerRiver gauge, Veuve River	0.45 m	Low	−0.01 m	33 km
Pickerel River above Cantin LakeRiver gauge, Pickerel River	16.73 m	Low	−0.02 m	34 km
Commanda Creek near CommandaRiver gauge, Commanda Creek	1.06 m	Low	−0.01 m	37 km
Little Sturgeon River below Booth LakeRiver gauge, Little Sturgeon River	2.63 m	Normal	−0.02 m	44 km

Questions and answers

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 187.93 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of French River below Portage Dam today?

On Oct 16, 2026, 11:35 AM EDT, the water level was 187.93 m. Up 0.19 m over the last 24 hours.

Is French River below Portage Dam rising or falling?

Up 0.19 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.49 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of French River below Portage Dam normal?

Normal for mid-October. Compared with 5 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:02DD027 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 46.12050, -80.01808 (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	187.93 m	2026-10-16 15:35	Provisional
Flow	89.8 m³/s	2026-10-18 15:30	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: French River below Portage Dam (eccc:02DD027). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/ontario/french-river-below-portage-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