Here is the section where members can update information about rivers in the area. Here are some guidelines about updates

• Include date and river flow if known (cms)
• Pictures are welcome, but keep image size down to 500pixels on whatever is the long edge or use links from other sites
• Descriptions of key features will help others decide if they want to run the river at those flows.

Feel free to make other suggestions as we improve the site!



Green dots represent Alberta Environment gauging stations.

Recreational Flows

Wilco and I built the table below after: (1) sorting through 2500 River Trip Reports submitted by different paddlers, (2) looking at guide book recommendations and (3) considering the discharge (flow rate) that provides a sufficient depth (75 cm for 'preferred' flow). We suggest that the 'minimum flow' is about as low as you'd want to paddle without scraping over too many rocks. The preferred flow is the low end of the flow range that many paddlers favor and would be worth a trip. (Stew)

For the upper St. Mary, the Highway 501 gauge is right near the take-out and with a bit more water than at the border, the minimum flow at that location might be around 25 cms.

Also note that rivers change, especially with major floods that widen the channel and this changes the flow need. For example, after the major 2005 flood on Willow Creek, the minimum flow rose to about 10 cms.

River Reach	Hydrometric Gauge	Minimal Flow	Preferred Flow	Mean Discharge
		m3/s	m3/s	m3/s
Red Deer River Basin
Upper Red Deer	Burnt Timber	23	30	20.9
Lower Red Deer	Red Deer	28	45	48
Bow River Basin
Upper Bow	Lake Louise	12	18	10.5
Upper Bow	Banff	25	40	39.6
Middle Bow	Calgary	40	60	91.7
Lower Bow	Carseland	45	65	108
Upper Elbow	Bragg Creek	10	15	7.83
Lower Elbow	Below Glenmore Dam	9	14	7.89
Upper Highwood	Diebel's Ranch	13	18	12.6
Lower Highwood	Near the Mouth	15	20	18.3
Oldman River Basin
Belly	Mountain View	10	15	8.69
Castle	Beaver Mines	17	25	15.8
Crowsnest	Frank	7	13	4.83
Little Bow	Carmangay	2.5	4	1.43
Upper Oldman	Waldron	16	25	12.9
Lower Oldman	Lethbridge	30	55	82.5
Upper St. Mary	International Border	17	30	20.6
Lower St. Mary	Near Lethbridge	19	35	14.9
Upper Waterton	Waterton Park	16	30	18.2
Lower Waterton	Glenwood	21	40	26.7
Willow Creek	Lane Creek	6	10	3.17
South Saskatchewan	Medicine Hat	60	100	191
Milk River	Milk River	13	20	9.02