SVCA launches on-line access to real-time water data

The Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) has announced that real-time data from its hydrometric monitoring network is now available on-line through the Collaborative Water Data Viewer. This open-data platform allows municipalities, stakeholders, and the public to explore up-to-date watershed information directly from the SVCA’s monitoring stations.

The SVCA has been sharing historic rainfall and snow data, updated on a biannual basis, since 2023. Now, in addition to this historical data, the data viewer updates hourly, as new data becomes available from the SVCA’s hydrometric network, providing users with near real-time and historical information. The viewer also provides access to additional historic and current data, not previously available, including water level, stream flow, air temperature, water temperature, and soil moisture.

More than 180 stations across several conservation authorities are available on the viewer, with some records dating back as far as 1914.



An acoustic doppler current profiler is used to collect stream-flow measurements (a measure of the volume of water moving through the river over a fixed period of time) when staff is not able to enter the river for measurements due to unsafe conditions; these measurements are used to establish a relationship between the stream flow and water level recorded by the sensor at this location

Data from the SVCA’s hydrometric network is collected and managed through the Water Information System by Kisters. Through a long-standing, cost-sharing partnership with 10 other conservation authorities in the Western Ontario Data Hub, hosted by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, the SVCA now makes this information available at no cost to users.

“The Collaborative Water Data Viewer is an important step forward in transparency, accessibility, and watershed engagement,” said Katie Thomas, manager of water resources at the SVCA. “Our partners and the public can now access reliable environmental monitoring data in real time, supporting emergency preparedness, research, and responsible planning.”

The data viewer allows users to graph, view, and download data in a range of formats. It is designed to serve everyone from municipal emergency co-ordinators to curious residents and local educators. Training opportunities for municipal users are planned for late 2025, and the SVCA is exploring future expansion to include additional data sets, such as groundwater and water quality.

Explore the Collaborative Water Data Viewer today at: www.saugeenconservation.ca/data.



The stream gauge station and rain gauge located on the South Pine River; data is collected automatically by the station and transmitted hourly through a satellite network for use by flood-forecasting and warning staff



Staff uses a flow meter to collect a stream-flow measurement; this equipment is used to collect stream-flow measurements when conditions allow staff to enter into the stream