Highwood River at Diebel's Ranch Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Highwood River at Diebel's Ranch in Canada, AB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Canada, AB, Canada
- Watershed highwood
- Primary gauge 05BL019 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Highwood River at Diebel's Ranch
The Highwood River in the Highwood watershed of Alberta is monitored at Diebel's Ranch.
Season by season
Spring is the main rise season here. The typical high month is June at 1.34 m (4.41 ft), while the typical low month is March at 0.7 m (2.3 ft). That seasonal swing is 64.1 cm (25.2 in), so docks, intakes, and low bank access need to handle a noticeable change through the year.
That pattern fits foothills and prairie hydrology: late-spring peaks are common, and summer can still bring sharp rises when storms hit. The record high is a June 2013 reading of 4.2 m (13.79 ft), so this river can move far above its usual June level when conditions line up.
Records and rises
The highest reading in the record is 4.2 m (13.79 ft) in June 2013. The lowest is 0.27 m (0.9 ft) in March 2012. That is a wide spread for one gauge, and it tells you the river can shift from very low water to a much more demanding stage over the course of the record.
The fastest 24-hour rise is 3.01 m (9.9 ft) in June 2013. For anyone watching the bank, fishing a side channel, or protecting a pump, that is the number that matters most for warning time: the river can climb quickly when it starts moving.
The fastest 24-hour drop is 32.8 cm (12.9 in) in July 2026. That kind of fall is smaller than the rise record, but it still changes edge conditions and access from one day to the next.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day, not against a raw elevation alone. That comparison tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual level for today, which is more useful for local decisions than the height by itself.
At this station, the record spans more than 48 years. The operating agency for the gauge is Water Survey of Canada.
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 17,900+ lakes and rivers
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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.
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