NWT Water Monitoring Bulletin – November 14, 2025

News Type: 
Water monitoring bulletin

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.

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Technical Data

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Current Status:

  • Water levels and flow rates remain relatively low across most of the NWT:

    • Great Slave Lake water level is currently well below average. It is higher than the level recorded at this time last year.

    • Hay River water level is well below average for this time of year.

    • 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 - similar to records seen in 2024. Flows on the Great Bear River also remain below average.

    • Exceptions to low water levels and flows include:

      • Slave River (average)

      • Arctic Red River (average)

      • South Nahanni River (average)

      • Some smaller rivers in the Great Slave Lake basin, including:

        • Snare River (average)

        • Lockhart River (above average)

        • Hoarfrost River (above average)

        • Taltson River (average)

  • As water bodies head into freeze-up and ice starts to form, it is normal for some rivers to show rises in water levels due to the presence of ice.

  • Low water levels are the result of extreme drought conditions that began in the summer of 2022 and have persisted through 2023 and 2024. Water levels have since shown some recovery, but this has mostly been limited to small rivers and lakes.

  • October precipitation was approximately average across the NWT, with some communities slightly below average.

  • October temperatures were warmer than average across the NWT.

  • Water levels on Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River are strongly influenced by precipitation received in northern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and southern NWT.

    • Precipitation in the Great Slave Lake basin in northern British Columbia and Alberta has been approximately average this fall (Oct 1st to present).

  • ECCC climate forecasts indicate that warmer-than-normal temperatures are likely to continue through November, with the likelihood ranging from about 40% in western NWT to around 80% in the east. November precipitation forecasts show roughly a 50% chance of above-average precipitation amounts across central, eastern, and northwestern regions of the NWT.

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