Data and Research

River Flow and Levels

Select from the dropdown box the Elbow River at Bragg Creek, Sarcee bridge, or downstream of Glenmore dam. (Data provided by Alberta Environment and Parks.)

Historical River Flows

Use this map to search for and view the current and historic hydrmetric monitoring station data. Data provided by Environment Canada.

Surface Water Quality

pdf City of Calgary Watershed Report 2007-2009 (7.31 MB)

pdf Calgary Watershed Report 2010-2012 (11.59 MB)

Includes summary of surface water quality in the Elbow watershed.

Bragg Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program - Since 2005, a group of volunteers has been monitoring several sites along Bragg Creek. The volunteers are back out again this year (2020).

This link Bragg Creek Water Quality Data 2005-2019 will open a downloadable spreadsheet document of data compiled through the volunteer program.

pdf Bragg Creek Sampling Sites (65 KB)

pdf Bragg Creek Water Quality Data - 2005 to 2009 (159 KB)

pdf Bragg Creek Water Quality Data - 2010 (17 KB)

pdf Bragg Creek Water Quality Data - 2011 (20 KB)

Impacts on Water Quality in the Upper Elbow River - Report done by Sosiak and Dixon (2004). pdf Upper Elbow Study (4.87 MB)

pdf Bow River Phosphorus Management Plan June 2014 (1.87 MB)

pdf Identifying sources and fates of phosphate in the Bow River 2015 (8.22 MB)

pdf Elbow River Watershed Assessment: What has Changed in the past 14 years? University of Calgary (11.00 MB)

Groundwater Quality

pdf Groundwater monitoring April 9, 2012 (29 KB)

This project was funded through the Watershed Stewardship Grant, a program of the Land Stewardship Centre, and through a grant from Rocky View County.

Rockyview County Groundwater Monitoring

Joint multiyear project by Rocky View County and the University of Calgary involving 40 residential wells.

Groundwater Quantity

UCalgary resercher gives a glimpse into a limited resource: groundwater. Click here for UCalgary article

Alluvial Aquifer

Alberta Research Council report on the Bow and Elbow Alluvial Aquifer 2009. pdf Alluvial Aquifer Report (61.71 MB)

Riparian Health Inventories

pdf Riparian Results - Part I (4.65 MB)
gaillardia

Results presentation by Cows and Fish (Riparian Habitat Management Society) of the riparian health assessments it conducted in 2007 at 16 sites along the Elbow and 17 sites on 10 tributaries.

pdf Riparian Results - Part II (4.85 MB)

pdf MMEE Riparian Inventory Assessments - Summary Report (896 KB)

Official summary report of the assessments conducted in 2007 in the region surrounding Moose Mountain.

pdf Riparian Health Summary Final Report (5.28 MB)

pdf Riparian Health Summary Final Report- Elbow River Watershed 2012 -Kananskis Country Alberta (5.45 MB)

Birds and Vascular Plants

pdf Elbow River Birding Survey - August 2011 (6 KB)

Naturalist Gus Yaki has been doing birding surveys on the first day of every month year round from Stanley Park to Glenmore Dam for the past 15 years. His research reveals that "quite a number of once common species have totally disappeared in that time."

pdf Elbow River Birding Survey - January 2012 (5 KB)

pdf Vascular Plants in North Glenmore Park - Summer 2011 (70 KB)

Most of the plants are escapees from neighbouring years or have been deliberately planted.

Land Use/Hydrological Modelling

A research paper from 2018 by Ryan Bennett titled "Applying Co-adaptive Management Principles to Conserve the Ecological Health of the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Southern Alberta" can be downloaded here pdf Applying Co-adaptive Management Principles - Ryan Bennett (3.54 MB)

pdf A Comprehensive Land-Use/Hydrological Modeling System for Scenario Simulations in the Elbow River Watershed, Alberta, Canada (1.71 MB)

pdf Assessing the impact of future land-use changes on hydrological processes in the Elbow River watershed in southern Alberta, Canada (1.78 MB)

pdf Elbow River Watershed Assessment: What has Changed in the past 14 years? University of Calgary (11.00 MB)