Weather and High Water Guidelines

RiverWatch trips are dependent on water levels

There are times each season when Mother Nature just won't cooperate with our plans for learning in the outdoors! When it's decided that a RiverWatch Trip is to be cancelled due to weather or high water, that decision will be made as far in advance as possible, but may occur as late as the prior evening or even early on the day of the field trip.

In the event of a last minute decision to cancel, teachers and guides will be on the phone and speaking from their homes. In all cases, the comfort and safety of students will be the paramount concern.

Inclement Weather

A RiverWatch Field Trip may be cancelled and re-scheduled if the forecasted temperature for that day is not expected to rise above 5°C with sunshine. A forecast for heavy rain, strong winds or falling snow will likely result in a cancellation, depending on the timing of the storm. (Some trips can operate on-schedule if the storm arrives later in the day.) Light rain in itself will not be a reason to cancel a trip.

The actual decision to cancel a trip due to the weather will be made through telephone conversations between a senior RiverWatch guide, the Environment Canada Weather Forecast Centre and the teacher.

High Water

RiverWatch trips will be cancelled if high spring flow volumes constitute a hazard. This decision will be made through phone calls between a senior RiverWatch guide, the Alberta Environment River Forecast Centre, the local fire department and the teacher.

High Water in Calgary

The decision to cancel is easy in Calgary - the Fire Department issues a high water advisory at 195 cubic meters per second. This situation is avoided most years because spring run-off usually reaches a peak flow just after RiverWatch finishes for the season on or about June 8th. Floating tree debris is also not a problem in Calgary because the sole purpose of the upstream Bearspaw Dam is to control water levels and debris passing through the City of Calgary.

Average flow conditions for the Bow River at Calgary

High Water in Edmonton

Late spring ice is sometimes a nuisance and requires us to change launch locations

There is no value set by the Fire Department for high water advisories in Edmonton. Because Edmonton is further downstream from the mountain headwaters than Calgary, spring high water and floating tree debris usually peaks in late June and early July. The end result is that high water concerns occur in Edmonton several weeks after RiverWatch has finished for the season.

RiverWatch trips have never been called into question due to rising water levels in Edmonton. However, a late spring ice break-up has threatened to delay the third-week of April start-up to a RiverWatch season. Huge piles of shoreline icebergs required changes to the start and finish of RiverWatch trips in the early spring of 1998.

Average flow conditions for the North Saskatchewan River at Edmonton

High Water Around Alberta

Elsewhere around Alberta, high spring flows tend to occur in late May and early June. We try to book RiverWatch Trips into early-May or mid-May in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Medicine Hat in order to avoid conflicts with spring run-off.

Click below to view graphs of average flow conditions around Alberta.

• Oldman River at Lethbridge



• South Saskatchewan River at Medicine Hat



• Red Deer River at the City of Red Deer