Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace in NL, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location NL, Canada
- Watershed central churchill nfld
- Primary gauge 03OD008 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace
What the record shows
Churchill River above Churchill Falls Tailrace is in the Central Churchill watershed in Newfoundland and Labrador.
This station has 16 years of record. The highest level on file is 142.42 m (467.27 ft), set in November 2022. The lowest is 138.09 m (453.04 ft), set in August 2020. That spread matters for anyone watching a landing, intake, or bank line: the water has moved through a wide band here, and the station has seen both the top and the bottom of that band in recent years.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The typical high month is May at 139.47 m (457.57 ft), and the typical low month is August at 138.38 m (454.01 ft). The typical annual swing is 1.08 m (3.6 ft). For local use, that is the range a dock, floating line, or near-shore access point needs to tolerate across the year.
The fastest 24-hour rise in the record is 1.58 m (5.2 ft), in June 2024. The fastest 24-hour drop is 1.42 m (4.6 ft), in November 2018. Those are short windows for change, and they are the kind of numbers that matter when water is moving fast enough to change a crossing or pull a shoreline edge out from under you.
The watershed
The gauge drains 72,030 km2 (27,811 sq mi) upstream of the station.
In this part of Atlantic hydrology, spring snowmelt freshet is part of the yearly rhythm, and fall and winter storms can bring rain floods. Lakes and bogs moderate many basins. For this reach, that means the river can respond on different clocks through the year: a slower seasonal climb, then sharper jumps when weather arrives on top of a wet basin.
Reading the hero number
The number at the top of the page is most useful when you compare today’s reading with the median for this calendar day from the station record. Raw elevation only tells you where the surface sits right now; the day-of-year median tells you whether it is running high or low for this date.
That comparison is the better guide for cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers because it puts today’s level in season. A reading can look ordinary in one month and stand out in another.
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
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.
Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
