Puntledge River at Courtenay Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Puntledge River at Courtenay in Canada, BC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Canada, BC, Canada
- Watershed south central vancouver island
- Primary gauge 08HB006 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Puntledge River at Courtenay
The Puntledge River in South Central Vancouver Island, BC, is tracked at Courtenay.
What the record shows
This station has more than 112 years on record, so the day-to-day pattern has a long baseline behind it.
The record high is 21.82 m (71.58 ft) in December 2014. The record low is 19.81 m (65 ft) in July 2015. Those two marks bracket what this reach can show at the gauge.
The usual seasonal shape is modest: the highest month is May at 20.38 m (66.87 ft), and the lowest month is August at 20 m (65.61 ft). The typical annual swing is 38.2 cm (15 in). For people using docks, pumps, or intakes, that is the range to expect the river to work through over a year.
The watershed
The station drains 581 km2 (224 sq mi) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole watershed name on the page.
This is a mountain-hydrology setting, so the broad rhythm is the one to watch: freshet tends to build with snowmelt and often peaks from May to July, while summer levels can ease off. The record here still needs to be read on its own terms: the highest month is May, and the lowest month is August.
For anglers and cottagers, that means the spring rise and late-summer drop are the main shifts to plan around. The seasonal swing is not large, but it is enough to matter at the waterline.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day, not as raw elevation alone. That comparison tells you whether today sits above or below the station’s usual spot for this date.
This station is operated by Water Survey of Canada. With more than 112 years on record, the calendar-day median is the steadier benchmark for judging today’s reading than a single elevation value by itself.
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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