Alberta River Flows

TransAlta’s hydro dams affect water flow of the rivers that connect to its facilities.

Water travel from Barrier dam to Canoe Meadows takes about 45 minutes. 

On this page, you’ll find river flow information for our Barrier and Pocaterra hydro facilities located in Kananaskis, Alberta.  

Visitors and campers to Alberta’s parks are advised to review Alberta Parks and Banff National Park for current safety advisories. For information on reservoir levels and flows at other locations in Alberta, please visit Alberta Environment – river basins.

The data below is updated in near-real time and flows are shown in cubic meters per second (cms). Please note that 0 cms means that the plant is offline or not running.

Day 0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Hour Ending Time Barrier Pocaterra Barrier Pocaterra Barrier Pocaterra Barrier Pocaterra

Operation of the facilities above will follow requirements from Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) as per the multi-year agreement between AEP and TransAlta.

Notes:

  1. Actual flows and levels are often more or less than projected and at times can vary considerably. Actual flows are also subject to change without public notice.
  2. The public is advised to remain clear of all waterways immediately upstream and downstream of TransAlta’s hydro facilities as flows may change rapidly and without notice. TransAlta’s first priority is the safety and well-being of employees, the public, and the communities where we live and work. Obey all signage and barricades.
  3. The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) works with Hour Ending (HE), which means that HE 01 starts at 00:00:01 (right after midnight) and ends at 01:00:00. HE14 starts at 13:00:01 and ends at 14:00:00. HE24 starts at 23:00:01 and ends at 24:00:00 (midnight).