Come join us on the river this summer. .
Whether you are keen on whitewater Kayak or Canoe instruction, offered by MKC all summer
long - Weekend and 5-Day courses, or a Raft excursion down the legendary Ottawa
River with OWL Rafting..... we want to make your experience a memorable one.
Please find water levels for the full length of the Madawaska
River below - updated once a week in our paddling season. Descriptions on what the
levels mean, are below the table.
The Madawaska River Levels -
2008:
| Date |
Upper Mad |
Middle Mad |
Lower Mad |
| April 14 |
180 cms |
115 cms |
300 cms |
| April 16 |
180 cms |
120 cms |
360 cms |
| April 28 |
180 cms |
134 cms |
350 cms |
| April 30 |
170 cms |
94 cms |
350 cms |
| May 1 |
|
74 cms |
350 cms |
| May 5 |
110-120 cms |
63 cms |
220 cms |
| May 9 |
110-120 cms |
32 cms |
160 cms |
| May 10 |
|
40 cms |
150 cms |
| May 12 |
100 cms |
90 cms |
210 cms |
| May 16 |
80 cms |
30 cms |
130 cms |
| May 21 |
|
50 cms |
|
| May 23 |
45 cms |
58 cms |
105 cms |
| May 25 |
|
35 cms |
115 cms |
| May 29 |
38 cms |
27 cms |
72 cms |
| May 30 |
|
27 cms |
65 cms |
| May 21 |
|
27 cms |
|
| June 6 |
|
33 cms |
|
| June 8 |
|
48 cms |
|
| June 9 |
40-45 cms |
48 cms |
107 cms |
| June 17 |
55 cms |
66 cms |
105 cms |
| June 18 |
|
82 cms |
125-130 cms |
| June 19 |
85 cms |
88 cms |
160 cms |
| June 20 |
75 cms |
75 cms |
|
| June 21 |
|
85 cms |
|
| June 22 |
|
70 cms |
|
| June 23 |
|
60 cms |
|
| June 25 |
|
56 cms |
105 cms |
| June 30 |
55 cms |
55 cms |
92 cms |
| July 2 |
55 cms |
45 cms |
78 cms |
| July 4 |
|
55 cms |
|
| July 07 |
55 cms |
55cms |
100 cms |
| July 09 |
50 cms |
55 cms |
82 cms |
| July 11 |
45 cms |
45 cms |
65 cms |
| July 14 |
|
26 cms |
|
| July 16 |
22 cms |
26 cms |
48 cms |
| July 18 |
18 cms |
3 cms |
37 cms |
| July 21 |
20 cms |
26 cms |
25 cms |
| July 26 |
|
15 cms |
45 cms |
| July 28 |
|
26 cms |
|
| Aug 1 |
|
15 cms |
|
| Aug 4 |
15 cms |
26 cms |
30 cms |
| Aug 5 |
|
26 cms |
|
| Aug 13 |
|
26 cms |
50 cms |
| Aug 14 |
26 cms |
26 cms |
60 cms |
| Aug 16 |
|
19 cms |
|
| Aug 18 |
15 cms |
26 cms |
40 cms |
| Aug 22 |
15 cms |
7 cms |
30 cms |
| Aug 23 |
|
14 cms |
30 cms |
| Aug 25 |
15 cms |
26cms |
30 cms |
| Aug 29 |
|
10 cms |
30 cms |
| Sept 01 |
10 cms |
10 cms |
30 cms |
| Sept 30 |
15 cms |
15 cms |
34 cms |
| Oct 3 |
15 cms |
22 cms |
40 cms |
| Closed for the
Season |
|
inflow
equals outflow |
|
|
The Madawaska River,
from a paddling point of view is divided into three sections:
 |
Upper Mad
- Whitney to the town of Madawaska
|
|
|
Middle Mad -
5km section below Bark Lake Dam to Lake Kamaniskeg, where MKC is located
|
|
|
Lower Mad
- The Palmer rapids section down to Griffith
|
The gauge is updated weekly, during MKC's season (mid May - Labour Day).
The river levels are given in cms (cubic metres per second), with the paddling
level in brackets (eg. high water).
Water levels for the middle Madawaska, in the summer months only flow
between Monday and Thursday. Friday, Saturday and Sunday normally see a minimum 3cms
flow, unless specifically indicated.
Water Level explanation for Whitewater Paddlers
Upper Madawaska - the
section between Algonquin Park (Whitney) to the town of Madawaska (Bark Lake)
| Level (in CMS) |
Comment |
| > 120 |
very high
water |
| 60 - 120 |
good paddling
level |
| 25 - 60 |
medium/low
levels |
| < 25 |
low, too
little water to paddle |
Middle Madawaska -
the section infront of MKC, between Bark Lake and Lake Kamaniskeg (there is an MNR
minimum flow requirement of 3 cms)As of July 8th, the water releases are Mon - Thurs. from
9am - 3:30pm only.
| Level (in CMS) |
Comment |
| > 50 |
huge,
with some keepers |
| 25 - 50 |
high |
| 25.6 |
regular MKC
release level -great! |
| 15 - 25 |
low, but
navigable |
| < 15 |
too low to
paddle |
Lower Madawaska -
this is both Palmer Rapids and the section from Aumonds Bay to Griffith, as the Palmer Dam
feeds this whole section. (the minimum MNR flow requirement is 10 cms)
| Level (in CMS) |
Palmer |
Snake Rapids |
| > 250 |
washed out |
huge
- be careful, water runs through the trees |
| 120 - 250 |
pushy, with
boily eddy lines |
high |
| 80 - 120 |
high, three
chutes at Jessups |
great,
forgiving and perfect for Haas' hole |
| 40 - 80 |
good |
medium,
very enjoyable paddling |
| 25 - 40 |
good |
low, but
still a good run |
| 10 - 25 |
low |
very low,
rocky |
|
