Transforming Canada’s water-monitoring program

The federal government is committed to treating fresh water as a precious resource, recognizing its importance to the environment and to Canadians. That is why the Government of Canada is investing $89.7 million to modernize Canada’s National Hydrological Service to support earlier and more accurate information about freshwater resources. Providing real-time data is becoming increasingly important as Canada faces a changing climate. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring data and information continue to be available for evidence-based decision-making about Canada’s water resources. This investment will help to ensure the sustainability of the Government’s water-monitoring networks, which in turn supports those who must prepare Canadians to face water-related disasters like flooding and droughts.

Canada’s National Hydrological Service is responsible for monitoring water quantity and flow, across Canada, in partnership with the provinces and territories. Provinces and territories continue to provide support for the water-monitoring network, while the federal government is responsible for operating approximately 2200 of the 2800 water-monitoring stations on rivers and lakes across Canada and for consolidating water-quantity data to provide an integrated view of the country’s surface-water resources.

The National Hydrological Service is also responsible for water management of international and domestic transboundary water, in partnership with the International Joint Commission and the provinces and territories. The data and information they collect are used in flood risk management, emergency-response management, water-resource planning, international and transboundary water allocation decisions, infrastructure planning and design, environmental monitoring and management, analysis of climate change, evaluation of long-term weather effects, power generation, and recreational uses of waterways.

Developing water prediction services

Climate change is having an impact on Canada’s waters, and it is a factor in water-related disasters. The Government of Canada is seeing an increasing demand for information related to water levels and a need to continuously improve services and availability of data, including long-range water predictions, to ensure Canadians and businesses are prepared to face water changes and disasters.

Water prediction services support emergency preparedness in advance of extreme weather events. By providing increased lead time to provincial, territorial, and federal agencies to make decisions and mitigate the impacts of water-related disasters, including floods and droughts, the Government increases the chances of keeping Canadians safe.

These prediction services will support federal decision-making on water use and allocation decisions for international and transboundary waters as well as provincial and territorial flood forecasting efforts. Integrated water prediction services will begin in five of Canada’s major water basins, including the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River, the Saskatchewan–Nelson, Mackenzie, Columbia, and Churchill rivers. Coastal flood-risk prediction services will also be piloted, starting with the Atlantic coast, in support of early warnings and alerts to protect Canadians and their property.

Improving data and information on water

Revitalizing water-monitoring stations will support the provision of earlier and more accurate water data and information. It will also ensure sustainability of a robust network of nearly 2800 water-monitoring stations across Canada.

Investments in existing infrastructures such as in-river structures (weirs), adjacent-to-river structures (stilling wells), and over-river structures (cableways) are necessary for the National Hydrological Service to continue providing reliable water measurements across the country, as well as ensuring the safety of those who undertake the monitoring.

Innovative monitoring technologies and equipment will also be evaluated to complement those existing structures. Prospective equipment, such as drones and remote-controlled boats, will allow technicians to remain at a distance, ensuring greater safety in areas with difficult access and in rougher waters, while maintaining a high accuracy with the data that is collected.

Investigating new water-monitoring technologies

Environment and Climate Change Canada strives to increase the quality and safety of water monitoring by continuously evaluating and testing new technologies to optimize National Hydrological Service operations. New technological developments help to improve data standards and measurement methods as well as strengthen our national data systems. The National Hydrological Service looks to evaluate promising new technologies for its operations—such as drones, surface-based and three-dimensional imagery, and satellite-based observations—to enhance the monitoring network, increase the accuracy of water data and information, and further support decision-making at the federal level and with provincial and territorial partners.

Coordinating National Hydrological Service partnerships

Environment and Climate Change Canada has a long established, collaborative, cost-shared partnership with the provinces and territories to ensure consistent hydrometric monitoring across Canada. Under formal bilateral agreements, the Meteorological Service of Canada’s National Hydrological Service serves as the principal operator of the water-monitoring network, operating approximately 2200 of the 2800 water-monitoring stations on rivers and lakes across Canada. Strong governance is in place with a national administrator’s table that coordinates federal and provincial/territorial partners, ensuring effective sharing of information and approaches.

Quebec operates under a different, but complementary arrangement whereby the province is responsible for the operation of the monitoring network, sharing the data with the federal government.