Qu'appelle River near Lumsden Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Qu'appelle River near Lumsden in Canada, SK, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Canada, SK, Canada
- Watershed upper qu appelle wascana
- Primary gauge 05JF001 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Qu'appelle River near Lumsden
The Qu’Appelle River near Lumsden sits in the Upper Qu’Appelle - Wascana watershed in Saskatchewan.
What the record shows
This station has more than 115 years on record, so the pattern is long enough to separate a one-off spike from the usual seasonal cycle.
The highest level in the record is 496.33 m (1628.38 ft) in April 2015. The lowest is 2.68 m (8.8 ft) in August 2012. Those two marks are far apart, and that spread is what matters for anyone setting a pump intake, watching a crossing, or checking a low bank.
The usual seasonal high comes in April at 491.92 m (1613.9 ft). The usual low comes in October at 491.07 m (1611.11 ft). The typical annual swing is 85.3 cm (33.6 in). On a river like this, that is the band a dock, bank access, or shallow intake has to live with from one season to the next.
The fastest 24-hour rise in the record was 2.42 m (7.9 ft) in April 2023. That is the kind of jump that shortens warning time for low-lying yards, culverts, and pasture crossings. The fastest 24-hour drop was 73.7 cm (29 in) in April 2022, which tells you the level can also back off quickly.
The watershed
The station’s drainage area above the gauge is 17500 km2 (6757 sq mi). That is the land feeding this point, not the whole named watershed.
For this part of Saskatchewan, spring is usually the main run-up season, then the river settles into a longer summer recession. That seasonal shape is plain in the record here: April is the typical high month, October the typical low month. If you use the river for access or irrigation, that timing matters more than any single day’s reading.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is the current reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That comparison is better than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is running high or low for today’s date, not just how high the water sits above the datum.
This station is published by Water Survey of Canada. With more than 115 years on record, the daily median has real context behind it, which is why it is the better quick check for a neighbour, angler, or flood watcher than the raw level alone.
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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