Winisk River at Kanuchuan Rapids Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Winisk River at Kanuchuan Rapids in ON, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location ON, Canada
- Watershed upper winisk
- Primary gauge 04DA002 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Winisk River at Kanuchuan Rapids
Winisk River at Kanuchuan Rapids sits in the Upper Winisk watershed in Ontario.
What the record shows
This station has 57 years on record.
The record high is 31.2 m (102.38 ft), set in June 2024. The record low is 28 m (91.87 ft), set in April 2014.
The seasonal pattern is clear. June is the highest month at 30.38 m (99.66 ft), while April is the lowest month at 28.31 m (92.89 ft). The typical annual swing is 2.06 m (6.8 ft).
For anyone using the river, that spread matters. A dock, landing, or intake has to work across more than 2 m (6.8 ft) of change through the year, and the June level can sit close to the top of the station’s record range.
The watershed
This gauge sits on the Winisk River in northern Ontario, in the Upper Winisk watershed. The drainage area above the station is 19000 km2 (7336 sq mi).
That upstream area is what feeds the reading here, not the full watershed downstream. On a river with a basin this size, local conditions at the rapids can change quickly when runoff arrives from far upstream, so a single reading is best read as a snapshot of the whole upstream catchment.
The regional pattern is snowmelt-driven: spring freshet late April-May, natural summer drawdown July-September, and an early-winter decline as ice forms. The station record matches that pattern in broad terms, with the lowest typical month in April and the highest typical month in June.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not just as a raw water level. That comparison tells you whether today is normal for this date, which is more useful for planning access, fishing, or flood watch than the elevation alone.
With more than 57 years on record, the station’s daily median is a solid benchmark for the Water Survey of Canada gauge at this location.
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.
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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
