The Government of the Northwest Territories maintains water monitoring stations across the territory to keep track of water levels and flow rates in areas of potential flood risk for communities.

This information is provided regularly to territorial and regional emergency managers to help understand the status of waterways across the NWT in the lead-up to, and during spring break-up – the highest-risk period for floods in the Northwest Territories.

Technical Data

• NWT Water Monitoring Bulletin – March 7, 2025

Current Status:

• Winter water levels and flow rates remain low across most of the NWT.
  • Great Slave Lake water level is below average and is approximately 25 cm higher than the level recorded at this time last year.
  • Slave River water level is below average for this time of year and is approximately 1 m higher than the level recorded at this time last year. Slave River water level was approximately average for most of February.
  • Liard River water level is well below average for this time of year.
  • Mackenzie River water level, recorded at several stations along the river, is well below average for this time of year.
  • Great Bear Lake remains at its lowest water level recorded for this time of year and flow rates on the Great Bear River are well below normal for this time of year.
  • Exceptions to low water levels and flows include:
    • Peel River
      • Peel River water level is approximately average for this time of year. 
    • South Nahanni River South
      • Nahanni River water level is above average for this time of year.
    • Some smaller rivers in the Great Slave Lake basin, including:
      • Snare River
      • Lockhart River
      • Hoarfrost River
      • Tazin River
• Low water levels are the result of extreme drought conditions that began in the summer of 2022 and have persisted through 2023 and 2024.
• February precipitation across the NWT was generally average, except for Yellowknife and Inuvik, which both received well below average precipitation.
• February temperatures across the NWT were approximately average for all communities except for Norman Wells and Inuvik. Norman Wells and Inuvik experienced warmer than average temperatures.
• Cumulative precipitation for NWT communities has been generally below average (October 1st to present). An exception is Fort Smith, which has received approximately average precipitation so far this winter.
  • The GNWT’s Department of Environment and Climate Change will conduct end-of-season snow surveys in late March to better understand snowpack accumulation across the NWT.
• Cumulative precipitation for communities in northern Alberta and British Columbia has been approximately average, with some variability between communities.
  • The amount of precipitation falling in these areas is an important contributor to water levels on Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River.
  • Neighbouring jurisdictions are responsible for conducting end-of-season snow surveys in their respective province/territory. These data will be compiled and published in the Spring Water Level Outlook.
• Climate forecasts from ECCC for the next three months (March, April, May) indicate near normal precipitation for most of the NWT, with some above average precipitation for southern portions of the territory.