Madawaska Gauge

Dirk, Claudia, Stefani and Katrina Van Wijk

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 - 2010:

Date	Upper Mad	Middle Mad	Lower Mad

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