Fraser & Nechako River Watch

The live level of the Fraser at South Fort George, where today sits against the river's own recent range, and the official flood-warning channel — for freshet and river-ice season.

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Town Tools builds free, public tools for Prince George and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

Worth knowing

River ice, and the winter jam

The Nechako, which joins the Fraser here, is prone to river ice that jams and backs water up in the cold months. The worst in recent memory began in December 2007: a record ice jam brought a local state of emergency, declared on 11 December, that ran about 66 days and forced roughly 100 people from their homes, flooding the River Road industrial area; in early January 2008 the Nechako was reported at its highest level in about 200 years, and Cottonwood Island Park was badly damaged. Ice jams have been recorded at the confluence for more than a century.

The spring freshet

The Fraser's high water is snowmelt from the mountains upstream, so the yearly peak usually falls between mid-May and June — warm, wet spells on a deep snowpack are what to watch. In May 2020, freshet pushed the Regional District to issue evacuation notices in the rural Mud River area southwest of the city.

A regulated river, and dry years too

The Nechako is a regulated river: the Kenney Dam holds back the Nechako Reservoir to the west, and flow returns downstream through the Skins Lake Spillway, so releases affect Nechako levels at the confluence. Recent years have swung the other way as well — 2023 and 2024 saw historically low water on the Nechako.

What the number means

The metre reading is the height of the water at the gauge above a fixed local reference point — useful for seeing whether the river is rising and how today compares with its own recent range, not as a height above sea level or a flood line. Live readings are automatic and provisional; they may be revised later by the Water Survey of Canada.

Official channels

Register for evacuation alerts (RDFFG Public Alerting System)Sign up to be notified by phone or email of evacuation alerts and orders for your area, including Prince George.

EmergencyInfoBCActive evacuation alerts, orders and hazard events across British Columbia.

City of Prince George — emergency preparednessThe City's flood and emergency preparedness page, covering both ice jams and freshet.