Canada’s longest river seeing historically low levels

Canada’s longest river is at historically low levels, stranding communities that rely on it for essential goods and alarming First Nations along its banks who have never known the mighty Mackenzie to be so shallow.

“This has never been seen before,” said Dieter Cazon, looking out at the water from his office as land and resources manager for the Liidlii Kue First Nation at Fort Simpson, N.W.T.

“We’ve asked elders, ‘Does anybody have stories about water being this incredibly low?’ Nobody has these stories.”

From Great Slave Lake to the Beaufort Sea, the Mackenzie River is 1,738 kilometres long. Its watershed covers parts of five provinces and territories.

But the Northwest Territories government reports flow rates at most locations along the river are either well below average or at their lowest recorded value for this time of year.

Water levels are about two metres below average, said territorial hydrologist Ryan Connon. Normal seasonal fluctuations are about 50 centimetres.

“Being two metres lower than normal is quite significant.”

That drop is even more dramatic, because two years ago rivers and lakes in the Mackenzie system were at all-time highs.

“The fact that water levels have dropped so much, that’s definitely unprecedented,” Connon said.

Last week, the Canadian Coast Guard abandoned attempts to monitor and mark hazards along almost the entire territorial length of the river. The coast guard’s two buoy tenders are limited to the lake itself and a short stretch of river north of Aklavik.

“We’ve been unable to provide our usual on-water presence on the river so far in 2024,” said spokesman Jeremy Hennessy in an email.

“River users should use extreme caution if venturing out, and keep in mind that any buoys in this section of