Nicola Lake near Quilchena water level

Name: Nicola Lake near Quilchena 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

Lake, Nicola Lake, British Columbia, Canada

Directions

Low for mid-October

Water level

1.90m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 20, 2026, 08:10 AM PDT (2 hours ago)

History

What this means

Water is short at Nicola Lake near Quilchena: the latest reading of 1.90 m is below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.20 m below the median of 2.10 m for mid-October, based on 11 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 1.90 m as well.

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 1.90 m – 2.02 m.

Lakes and reservoirs often sit lower in fall after a summer of evaporation and use, and recover with winter rain and spring snowmelt.

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

Key numbers

Median for this date: 2.10 m0.20 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 1.89 m – 2.40 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (11 years of records)
Same day last year: 1.90 m0.00 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 1.90 m – 2.02 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 1.72 m – 2.03 m

Boating and fishing at Nicola Lake near Quilchena

At low levels, launching can mean a long walk or a closed ramp, and shallow points stick out further than charts suggest.

Conditions at the shore change with the level, so check with the agency that runs the lake before a trip.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

20 Tue 14° 0° – Wind 7 km/h

21 Wed 21° 5° – Wind 14 km/h

22 Thu 14° 6° – Wind 9 km/h

23 Fri 11° 1° – Wind 17 km/h

24 Sat 11° -2° – Wind 10 km/h

25 Sun 9° -3° – Wind 7 km/h

26 Mon 11° -3° – Wind 8 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:33 AM Sunset 06:02 PM Daylight 10 hr, 29 min Waxing gibbous 70%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Quilchena Creek at QuilchenaRiver gauge, Quilchena Creek	2.12 m	Normal	−0.01 m	2.6 km
Nicola River at Outlet of Nicola LakeRiver gauge, Nicola River	0.96 m	Very low	±0	10 km
Coldwater River at MerrittRiver gauge, Coldwater River	1.07 m	Normal	+0.02 m	21 km
Guichon Creek at Outlet of Mamit LakeRiver gauge, Guichon Creek	2.24 m	Very low	±0	30 km
Pennask Creek near QuilchenaRiver gauge, Pennask Creek	0.37 m	Very low	±0	35 km
Nicola River South of ShackanRiver gauge	2.94 m	Very low	±0	43 km
Coldwater River near BrookmereRiver gauge, Coldwater River	2.39 m	High	±0	43 km
Siwash Creek near PrincetonRiver gauge, Siwash Creek	0.68 m	Very low	±0	57 km

Questions and answers

How does Nicola Lake near Quilchena compare with last year?

It is about the same as on this day last year, when the reading was 1.90 m.

What is a normal level for Nicola Lake near Quilchena in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 2.10 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 1.89 m and 2.40 m, based on 11 years of records.

What is the water level of Nicola Lake near Quilchena today?

On Oct 20, 2026, 08:10 AM PDT, the water level was 1.90 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Nicola Lake near Quilchena rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Down 0.03 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Nicola Lake near Quilchena normal?

Low 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.

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:08LG046 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 50.15839, -120.52510 (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	1.90 m	2026-10-20 15:10	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Nicola Lake near Quilchena (eccc:08LG046). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/british-columbia/nicola-lake-near-quilchena

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