According to a water monitoring report issued today by GNWT’s Environment and Climate Change, the Great Bear Lake remains at its lowest water level recorded for this time of year and flow rates on the Great Bear River continue to be well below average for this time of year.
Researchers behind the report attribute low water levels to extreme drought conditions that began in the summer of 2022 and recurred in 2023 and 2024.
The data collected by researchers, which goes back several decades, suggested that water levels have shown some recovery in small rivers and lakes in the N.W.T.
Data collected for August suggested that precipitation was mostly well below average, while temperatures were mostly well above average across the N.W.T.
Data showed that cumulative rainfall in the communities of High Level, Peace River, Fort Chipewyan, Fort Nelson and Fort St John was below to well-below average for the month of August.
Real-time and historic water level data can be accessed on the Environment of Natural Resources website.
