Wabasca River at Highway No. 88 Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Wabasca River at Highway No. 88 in AB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AB, Canada
- Watershed lower wabasca
- Primary gauge 07JD002 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Wabasca River at Highway No. 88
Wabasca River at Highway No. 88 is a gauged river in the Lower Wabasca watershed, Alberta.
The watershed
The gauge drains 35,900 km2 (13,861 sq mi) upstream of this station. That is the area feeding the reading here, not the whole watershed on a map. For people living along the river, that upstream size means the stage can stay influenced by conditions far beyond the road crossing.
The seasonal pattern is straightforward. The highest typical month is May at 2.11 m (6.91 ft), and the lowest typical month is October at 1.66 m (5.46 ft). The typical annual swing is 44.4 cm (17.5 in). In practical terms, docks, bank access, and shallow intakes have to work across that range every year.
What the numbers say
The record high is 4.41 m (14.47 ft) in May 2022. The record low is 1.19 m (3.89 ft) in August 2015. Those two marks bracket what this river can do at this site: one season can leave a lot more water in the channel than another, and summer lows can be well below the spring level.
The regional pattern fits the calendar shape in the facts. May is the usual high point here, while October is the usual low point. That matters for anglers planning access and for anyone moving equipment to the bank. Even without a fast 24-hour rise listed, the river can still change quickly during storm periods, so the level on a single visit should not be treated as fixed for the day.
Reading the hero number
The number shown at the top of this page should be read against the median for this calendar day across the 55 years on record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation alone because it shows whether the river is running above or below its usual level for this date.
For a neighbour, that tells you more than a single height reading. It helps judge whether a dock will sit higher than normal, whether a launch may be tighter than expected, or whether the river is behaving like its usual late-season level for this day.
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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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
