Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace water level

Name: Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace 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, Churchill River, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Surface elevation

138.46m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 20, 2026, 07:20 PM ADT (59 min ago)

Flow: 46.2 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Surface elevation Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

The gauge at Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace reads 138.46 m, a normal level for mid-October.

That puts it 0.09 m below the median of 138.55 m for mid-October, based on 13 years of readings.

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 138.12 m and 138.60 m.

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

Compared with 13 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 138.55 m0.09 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 138.34 m – 140.17 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (13 years of records)
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 138.12 m – 138.60 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 138.12 m – 138.59 m

Conditions at Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace

Paddlers should check the trend as well as the level; summer storms can raise rivers quickly.

Flood advisories come from the provincial river forecast centre.

About the Churchill River

The Churchill River, formerly known by other names, is a river in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It flows east from the Smallwood Reservoir into the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Melville. The river is 856 km (532 mi) long and drains an area of 79,800 km2 (30,800 sq mi), making it the longest river in Atlantic Canada.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 6.3 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

20 Tue 4° -1° 0.5 mm, 80% Wind 17 km/h

21 Wed 7° 1° – Wind 19 km/h

22 Thu 5° 1° 2.3 mm, 78% Wind 20 km/h

23 Fri 2° -2° – Wind 14 km/h

24 Sat 9° -1° – Wind 17 km/h

25 Sun 8° 4° 5.1 mm, 44% Wind 29 km/h

26 Mon 4° 0° 0.6 mm, 27% Wind 27 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:53 AM Sunset 06:11 PM Daylight 10 hr, 17 min Waxing gibbous 72%

Map

Other gauges on the Churchill River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Churchill River below Churchill Falls TailraceRiver gauge, Churchill River	123.75 m	Normal	+0.05 m	11 km
Churchill River below Metchin RiverRiver gauge, Churchill River	112.46 m	Very low	−0.04 m	64 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for the Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 138.55 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 138.34 m and 140.17 m, based on 13 years of records.

Is Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace really 138.46 m deep?

No. 138.46 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 Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace today?

On Oct 20, 2026, 07:20 PM ADT, the surface elevation was 138.46 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Down 0.09 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace normal?

Normal for mid-October. Compared with 13 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:03OD008 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 53.52464, -64.11503 (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

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Surface elevation	138.46 m	2026-10-20 22:20	Provisional
Flow	46.2 m³/s	2026-10-20 22:20	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace (eccc:03OD008). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/newfoundland-and-labrador/churchill-river-above-churchill-falls-tailrace

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