PlaceDossier / Questions

How high does the river near my BC property get?

The Water Survey of Canada measures BC's rivers at hundreds of gauges, and keeps each year's highest flow. A report gives the record of the gauge on a named river within 25 km of a lot by that river: the median year, the highest on record with its date, and the last ten.

683 Water Survey of Canada gauges in 188 places have 5 or more years of yearly peak flows, read 2026-10-11; a report gives the nearest one on a river by the lot. The places, by name.

The report opens at this answer, with the lot drawn on the map and every other check alongside. A PID (on the tax notice or title) always finds the lot; an address works when it's an exact match.

Share

TextEmail

Text and Email open your own messages or email app with these words. Edit them first if you like.

What the answer means

What a yearly peak is
The highest flow the gauge measured in the year, in cubic metres a second, usually in the spring melt in the Interior and in autumn and winter rains on the coast. Years the gauge didn't run, or didn't catch the peak, are left out.
What it isn't
The gauge's yearly peak is the highest flow it measured each year, in cubic metres a second, from the Water Survey of Canada's record (HYDAT). It is the river's record at the gauge, not a flood line or a water level at this lot: a lot upstream or downstream, higher on the bank or behind a dike floods differently, and years the gauge didn't run or didn't record a peak are missing. The local government's flood mapping and flood construction level say what applies to the lot.
A recent record
A gauge whose highest flow came in the last few years, as many in the southern Interior did on November 15, 2021, is a reason to ask the local government whether its flood mapping and flood construction level were set before or after it.
Which gauge
The nearest gauge on a river or stream of the same name, with 5 or more years of peaks. A lake gauge gives the lake's yearly high water instead, on the gauge's datum.

The figures are HYDAT's, counted by us per gauge. Rivers differ in size, so places are listed, never ranked; a gauge says what the river did where it stands, not what it would do at a lot. Confirm with the local government about flood mapping and the flood construction level before you buy or build.

Source: HYDAT: annual instantaneous peak flows, Water Survey of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).

By place

683 Water Survey of Canada gauges in 188 BC places have 5 or more years of yearly peak flows. Listed by place and gauge, never ranked: a big river's ordinary year outruns a creek's flood.

PlaceGauges: years of yearly peaks, the median peak and the highest on record
Abbotsford
  • Fishtrap Creek at International Boundary (08MH153)
    36 yearly peaks, 1988 to 2024; median 7.8 m³/s; highest 10.4 m³/s on March 12, 2007, and again in 2009 and 2022
  • Sumas River near Huntingdon (08MH029)
    62 yearly peaks, 1953 to 2024; median 30 m³/s; highest 55.8 m³/s on February 2, 2020 (estimated)
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area A
  • Carnation Creek at 150 M Contour (08HB069, no longer running)
    19 yearly peaks, 1980 to 1998; median 8.1 m³/s; highest 34.9 m³/s on January 3, 1984
  • Carnation Creek at the Mouth (08HB048)
    46 yearly peaks, 1973 to 2023; median 24.6 m³/s; highest 65.1 m³/s on January 3, 1984
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area B
  • Ash River below Moran Creek (08HB023)
    60 yearly peaks, 1960 to 2025; median 230 m³/s; highest 620 m³/s on January 15, 1961
  • Bear Creek at Bryson Road (08HB043, no longer running)
    5 yearly peaks, 1994 to 1998; median 4.2 m³/s; highest 4.7 m³/s on March 18, 1997, and again in 1998
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area C
  • Bedwell River above Ursus Creek (08HC004, no longer running)
    6 yearly peaks, 1991 to 1998; median 224 m³/s; highest 251 m³/s on November 19, 1991
  • Tofino Creek near the Mouth (08HB086)
    26 yearly peaks, 1996 to 2024; median 208 m³/s; highest 408 m³/s on January 27, 2016 (estimated)
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area D
  • Ash River near Great Central (08HB016, no longer running)
    7 yearly peaks, 1959 to 1966; median 177 m³/s; highest 524 m³/s on February 6, 1963
  • Sproat River near Alberni (08HB008)
    27 yearly peaks, 1990 to 2024; median 210 m³/s; highest 304 m³/s on December 11, 2014
  • Stamp River near Great Central (08HB009, no longer running)
    41 yearly peaks, 1958 to 1999; median 260 m³/s; highest 408 m³/s on November 5, 1975
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area E
  • Somass River near Alberni (08HB017)
    36 yearly peaks, 1958 to 2025; median 708 m³/s; highest 1,150 m³/s on January 15, 1961
Barriere
  • Barriere River at the Mouth (08LB020)
    23 yearly peaks, 1995 to 2025; median 96.9 m³/s; highest 176 m³/s on June 1, 1997
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area A
  • Bulkley River at Quick (08EE004)
    21 yearly peaks, 2002 to 2024; median 560 m³/s; highest 967 m³/s on May 28, 2011
  • Bulkley River near Smithers (08EE005)
    16 yearly peaks, 2009 to 2024; median 809 m³/s; highest 1,140 m³/s on May 28, 2011
  • Goathorn Creek near Telkwa (08EE008)
    56 yearly peaks, 1961 to 2024; median 16.1 m³/s; highest 51.5 m³/s on September 29, 1988 (estimated)
  • M3 Creek near Smithers (08EF006)
    16 yearly peaks, 1999 to 2024; median 1.7 m³/s; highest 5.1 m³/s on May 31, 2011 (estimated)
  • Simpson Creek at the Mouth (08EE012)
    46 yearly peaks, 1976 to 2024; median 3.1 m³/s; highest 9.6 m³/s on September 29, 1988 (estimated)
  • Telkwa River below Tsai Creek (08EE020)
    47 yearly peaks, 1976 to 2024; median 86.1 m³/s; highest 264 m³/s on October 10, 1991 (estimated)
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area B
  • Maxan Creek above Bulkley Lake (08EE018, no longer running)
    5 yearly peaks, 1975 to 1979; median 30.3 m³/s; highest 36.8 m³/s on May 6, 1976
  • Pinkut Creek near Tintagel (08EC004)
    54 yearly peaks, 1962 to 2024; median 32.4 m³/s; highest 107 m³/s on May 23, 2011
  • Twain Creek Tributary near Babine Lake (08EC014)
    16 yearly peaks, 2000 to 2021; median 1.8 m³/s; highest 3.4 m³/s on May 7, 2006
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area C
  • Driftwood River above Kastberg Creek (08JD006)
    41 yearly peaks, 1981 to 2024; median 71.6 m³/s; highest 151 m³/s on June 6, 2007, and again in 2017
  • Kazchek Creek near the Mouth (08JE005, no longer running)
    6 yearly peaks, 1980 to 1989; median 36.8 m³/s; highest 45.8 m³/s on May 22, 1984
  • Nation River near Fort St. James (07ED001)
    40 yearly peaks, 1941 to 2024; median 340 m³/s; highest 708 m³/s on June 11, 1964
  • Omineca River above Osilinka River (07EC002)
    47 yearly peaks, 1976 to 2024; median 602 m³/s; highest 1,090 m³/s on June 7, 2007
  • Stuart River near Fort St. James (08JE001)
    39 yearly peaks, 1987 to 2025; median 323 m³/s; highest 549 m³/s on June 18, 1997
  • Tsilcoh River near the Mouth (08JE004)
    44 yearly peaks, 1977 to 2024; median 29.4 m³/s; highest 81.4 m³/s on April 24, 2020 (estimated)
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area D
  • Nechako River below Cheslatta Falls (08JA017)
    43 yearly peaks, 1980 to 2024; median 293 m³/s; highest 636 m³/s on July 27, 2007
  • Stellako River at Glenannan (08JB002)
    45 yearly peaks, 1980 to 2025; median 55.7 m³/s; highest 191 m³/s on June 10, 2007
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E
  • Eutsuk River at Outlet of Eutsuk Lake (08JA028, no longer running)
    12 yearly peaks, 1993 to 2012; median 146 m³/s; highest 257 m³/s on June 21, 2007
  • Laventie Creek near the Mouth (08JA015)
    42 yearly peaks, 1976 to 2023; median 67.5 m³/s; highest 266 m³/s on November 1, 1978
  • Macivor Creek near the Mouth (08JA016, no longer running)
    16 yearly peaks, 1977 to 1995; median 7.7 m³/s; highest 12.2 m³/s on May 31, 1980
  • Nadina River at Outlet of Nadina Lake (08JB008)
    30 yearly peaks, 1991 to 2024; median 33.5 m³/s; highest 86.3 m³/s on May 27, 2011
  • North Beach Creek above Allin Creek (08JB013)
    15 yearly peaks, 1998 to 2022; median 0.7 m³/s; highest 2.2 m³/s on May 15, 2008, and again in 2018
  • Tahtsa River near Ootsa Lake (08JA005, no longer running)
    18 yearly peaks, 1932 to 1952; median 217 m³/s; highest 317 m³/s on June 20, 1950
  • Tetachuck River near Ootsa Lake (08JA004, no longer running)
    17 yearly peaks, 1931 to 1952; median 152 m³/s; highest 227 m³/s on June 22, 1937
  • Van Tine Creek near the Mouth (08JA014, no longer running)
    29 yearly peaks, 1976 to 2005; median 10.2 m³/s; highest 29.7 m³/s on April 26, 1977
  • Whitesail Middle Creek near Tahtsa Reach (08JA029)
    14 yearly peaks, 1998 to 2023; median 1.7 m³/s; highest 5.2 m³/s on October 22, 2000
  • Whitesail River near Ootsa Lake (08JA003, no longer running)
    17 yearly peaks, 1932 to 1952; median 110 m³/s; highest 150 m³/s on June 21, 1950
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area F
  • Corkscrew Creek near the Mouth (08JC017, no longer running)
    10 yearly peaks, 1997 to 2007; median 5.3 m³/s; highest 11.8 m³/s on May 15, 1997
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area G
  • Babine River at Outlet of Nilkitkwa Lake (08EC013)
    49 yearly peaks, 1972 to 2024; median 127 m³/s; highest 265 m³/s on June 4, 1997
  • Morice River near Houston (08ED002)
    60 yearly peaks, 1962 to 2024; median 245 m³/s; highest 394 m³/s on June 17, 1969
  • Nanika River at Outlet of Kidprice Lake (08ED001)
    50 yearly peaks, 1973 to 2024; median 129 m³/s; highest 354 m³/s on October 25, 2017 (estimated)
  • Richfield Creek near Topley (08EE009, no longer running)
    9 yearly peaks, 1965 to 1974; median 17.5 m³/s; highest 23.1 m³/s on June 12, 1972
  • Skeena River above Babine River (08EB005)
    38 yearly peaks, 1972 to 2024; median 2,190 m³/s; highest 3,260 m³/s on October 9, 1974 (estimated)
  • Thautil Corner Creek near Morice Lake (08ED004)
    17 yearly peaks, 2000 to 2024; median 2.5 m³/s; highest 4.5 m³/s on June 10, 2002

Showing the first 14 of 188 places. Show all 188, or find yours above.

From HYDAT's yearly instantaneous peak flows, read 2026-10-11. Each gauge is placed by us in the place that holds it; 16 on land without a place page here, reserves among them, aren't listed. Years without a peak on record are left out of the count, and "estimated" is HYDAT's own mark.

See also floodplain maps, dikes and flood construction levels.

Buying rural land? Before you buy rural land in BC: the nine questions that decide an offer, on one printable page.