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Waterton Reservoir water level

Reservoir, Alberta, Canada

Directions

Right now

Very high for mid-October

Surface elevation

1,178.30m Up 0.06 m over the last 24 hours

1,170 1,175

History

History
1,1701,1731,1751,178mOct 10Oct 12Oct 14Oct 16Oct 171,1701,1731,1751,178mOct 10Oct 14Oct 17
1,1701,175mSep 17Sep 25Oct 2Oct 10Oct 171,1701,175mSep 17Oct 2Oct 17
1,1701,180mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 20261,1701,180mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026
1,1701,180mOct 2016Apr 2019Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 20261,1701,180mOct 2016Oct 2021Oct 2026
1,1701,180mJanMarMayJulSepNov20261,1701,180mJanAprJulOct2026

202120222023202420252026

Surface elevation Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

There is plenty of water in Waterton Reservoir: 1,178.30 m, well above normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 1,174.84 m, based on 11 years of readings, so the water level is 3.46 m above typical. On the same day last year the reading was 1,174.97 m, a difference of +3.33 m.

The water is rising: up 0.06 m over the past 24 hours. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 1,177.83 m and 1,178.95 m.

Many reservoirs are drawn down through summer and fall; most of the refill comes later, with winter rain or spring snowmelt.

Compared with 11 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date
1,174.84 m3.46 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date
1,170.11 m – 1,177.41 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (11 years of records)
Same day last year
1,174.97 m+3.33 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
1,177.83 m – 1,178.95 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
1,175.00 m – 1,180.27 m

Swimming and boating at Waterton Reservoir

High water can flood ramps, parking areas and shoreline campsites, and it carries floating debris. Expect some no-wake zones to be extended.

If you swim, pick a spot with an easy way out, and remember that drop-offs move as the level changes.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

17 Sat 18° 8° – Wind 46 km/h
18 Sun 13° 1° – Wind 13 km/h
19 Mon 14° 3° – Wind 10 km/h
20 Tue 9° 3° – Wind 8 km/h
21 Wed 19° 4° – Wind 17 km/h
22 Thu 17° 9° – Wind 29 km/h
23 Fri 9° 1° – Wind 11 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:59 AM Sunset 06:42 PM Daylight 10 hr, 43 min First quarter 44%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Waterton - Belly Diversion CanalCanal gauge 0.30 m Normal +0.03 m 3.7 km
Drywood Creek near the MouthRiver gauge, Drywood Creek 0.78 m High ±0 8.5 km
Belly - St. Mary Diversion CanalCanal gauge 0.00 m³/s Normal ±0 9.6 km
Belly River near GlenwoodRiver gauge, Belly River 0.76 m Normal −0.01 m 15 km
Waterton River near GlenwoodRiver gauge, Waterton River 0.85 m Low −0.01 m 19 km
Yarrow Creek at Spread Eagle RoadRiver gauge, Yarrow Creek 6.31 m Low ±0 22 km
Belly River near Mountain ViewRiver gauge, Belly River 1.19 m Normal +0.01 m 25 km
Waterton River near Waterton ParkRiver gauge, Waterton River 0.42 m Normal −0.02 m 26 km

Questions and answers

Is Waterton Reservoir higher than last year?

Yes, it is 3.33 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 1,174.97 m.

What is a normal level for Waterton Reservoir in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 1,174.84 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 1,170.11 m and 1,177.41 m, based on 11 years of records.

Is Waterton Reservoir really 1,178.30 m deep?

No. 1,178.30 m is the height of the water surface above sea level (or the agency's vertical datum), not the depth of the water.

What is the water level of Waterton Reservoir today?

On Oct 17, 2026, 03:00 PM MDT, the surface elevation was 1,178.30 m. Up 0.06 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Waterton Reservoir rising or falling?

Up 0.06 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.41 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Waterton Reservoir normal?

Very high for mid-October. Compared with 11 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:05AD026 (Agency page)
Coordinates
49.32023, -113.68416 (WGS84)
Vertical datum
GEODETIC SURVEY OF CANADA 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
Surface elevation 1,178.30 m 2026-10-17 21:00 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Waterton Reservoir (eccc:05AD026). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/alberta/waterton-reservoir

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.