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Kipawa River Water Levels
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>> IMPORTANT NOTICE <<
(January 2007) A Change in Kipawa River Water Level References We have changed the way we reference flow levels in the Kipawa River on this site. For more information see our water level history below. |
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| Flows in the Laniel to Lake Temiscaming section of the Kipawa River are regulated using the flood control dam at Laniel. Environment Canada operates a remote flow guage on the Kipawa River, located near the highway park below Laniel. |
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Accessing The Evironment Canada Flow Guage
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| Instructions: - select the Province of Quebec - select the Kipawa River guage from the map or by direct entry |
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The guage you want is:
KIPAWA (RIVIERE) EN AVAL DE LANIEL (02JE015) |
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| The chart on the site will provide a guage reading that is a number from one to ten with one decimal place (e.g. 6.5). You can visually estimate a second decimal (e.g. 6.55). |
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| To convert the guage reading to CMS use this conversion table below. The conversion table is also available as an Excel spreadsheet (download). |
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Guage
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CMS
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Guarge
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CMS
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5.134
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1 |
6.800
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111 |
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5.320
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3 |
6.887
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121 |
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5.507
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8 |
6.930
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127 |
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5.572
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11 |
6.987
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135 |
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5.680
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16 |
7.051
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144 |
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5.854
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27 |
7.115
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153 |
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5.913
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31 |
7.170
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163 |
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6.074
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42 |
7.225
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173 |
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6.135
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47 |
7.335
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192 |
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6.244
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56 |
7.463
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218 |
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6.244
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61 |
7.582
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246 |
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6.424
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72 |
7.685
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270 |
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6.499
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79 |
7.771
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294 |
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6.553
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84 |
7.829
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310 |
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6.618
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91 |
7.865
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320 |
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6.655
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95 |
7.946
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345 |
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6.712
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101 |
7.989
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358 |
| IMPORTANT NOTE: The following information details the history behind recent changes in the way CMS values for the flows in the Kipawa River are referenced within the paddling community. This is important because the old CMS values in use by paddlers for over 20 years, have changed. Paddlers need to become familiar with the new CMS values so they can accurately assess skill levels required to run the river safely. |
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| In 1986, Public Works and Government Services Canada, the owner of the Laniel Dam, provided the paddling community with the phone number for the remote access water flow gauge on the Kipawa River. The remote guage at that time, provided a series of beeps, which converted to a nurmeric flow value, which could then be looked up on a conversion chart to get the CMS flow value for the river. For 21 years, the paddling community used the conversion chart provided by PWGSC to calulate CMS for the Kipawa and to communicate those CMS numbers to paddlers. River and rapid descriptions using those traditional CMS values have been published in at least three books, on several internet sites and have been distributed for years within the paddling community. In the fall of 1996, during court examinations of PWGSC staff as part of the Laniel Dam environmental assessment judisical review application, it became very clear that the traditional CMS values for the Kipawa River provided to the paddling community by PWGSC in 1986, were considerably different from the CMS values used by PWGSC today. PWGSC has so far refused to explain why the CMS values are different. In early 2007, Les Amis de la Riviere Kipawa converted to the values currently in use by PWGSC. |
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| Here's an example of the traditional CMS values used by the paddling community and the new CMS values. | |
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Old CMS Values
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New CMS Values
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Typical rally level using old CMS
160 to 200 cms |
Typical rally level using new CMS
120 to 150 cms |
