Bow River Development Main Canal below Headgates Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Bow River Development Main Canal below Headgates in AB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AB, Canada
- Watershed lower bow crowfoot
- Primary gauge 05BM021 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Bow River Development Main Canal below Headgates
Bow River Development Main Canal below Headgates is in the Lower Bow - Crowfoot watershed in Alberta.
What the record shows
The station’s record high is 908.16 m (2979.52 ft) in June 2025, and the record low is 905.52 m (2970.87 ft) in April 2022. That spread matters for anyone watching freeboard, intakes, or a canal edge: the water has moved through more than 2.64 m (8.65 ft) of record range here.
The seasonal pattern is not flat. The highest month is July at 907.73 m (2978.12 ft), while the lowest month is April at 906.44 m (2973.87 ft). The typical annual swing is 1.3 m (4.3 ft), so structures tied to a fixed waterline need room for that change.
The fastest 24-hour rise was 61.7 cm (24.3 in) in July 2013. That is the kind of move that shortens warning time for low crossings, docks, and nearby work along the water. The fastest 24-hour drop was 84.7 cm (33.3 in) in July 2016, which shows how quickly conditions can change in the opposite direction as well.
The watershed
This gauge drains 15,400 km2 (5,946 sq mi) upstream of the station. That is the area that can influence what this site sees, not the whole watershed on the map.
In this part of Alberta, late spring is often the main high-water season, with summer storms sometimes sending water up fast. The record here fits a site that can move from spring low to summer high without much delay. For people who fish, farm, or keep equipment near the bank, that means the water level can be steady for stretches and then change quickly enough to matter.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation alone because it shows whether today is ordinary for this date, high for the season, or low for the season.
This station has more than 24 years on record, and the comparison is the right one for the Water Survey of Canada station at 05BM021. It puts the current level in context with what this canal usually does on the same day, which is what matters for planning a crossing, checking an intake, or deciding whether to move gear.
How this page is built
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Alerts that watch the water for you
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Where Nibi comes from
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Coverage
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
Free forever, funded by members
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
Water Stories
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How every number is computed - About the platform
