available_levels: Get all available level data (final + provisional)

In tidyhydat: Extract and Tidy Canadian 'Hydrometric' Data

Get all available level data (final + provisional)

Description

Convenience function that combines final historical data (from HYDAT or web service) with provisional real-time data in a single call.

Usage

available_levels(
  station_number,
  start_date = NULL,
  end_date = Sys.Date(),
  hydat_path = NULL,
  prov_terr_state_loc = NULL
)

Arguments

station_number	A seven digit Water Survey of Canada station number. If this argument is omitted, the value of prov_terr_state_loc is returned.
start_date	Start date for data retrieval in YYYY-MM-DD format. Defaults to NULL (retrieves all available historical data).
end_date	End date for data retrieval in YYYY-MM-DD format. Defaults to current date (Sys.Date()).
hydat_path	The path to the hydat database or NULL to use the default location used by download_hydat. It is also possible to pass in an existing database connection from hy_src() such that the database only needs to be opened once per user-level call.
prov_terr_state_loc	Province, state or territory. If this argument is omitted, the value of station_number is returned. See unique(allstations$prov_terr_state_loc). Will also accept CA to return only Canadian stations.

Format

A tibble with 6 variables:

• STATION_NUMBER: Unique 7 digit Water Survey of Canada station number

• Date: Observation date. Formatted as a Date class.

• Parameter: Parameter being measured. Value is "Level"

• Value: Level value. The units are metres.

• Symbol: Measurement/river conditions

• Approval: Approval status: "final" (approved) or "provisional" (subject to revision)

Details

This function combines data from final and provisional data sources to provide a complete water level record.

Data Sources and Priority

Historical (Final) Data:

The function automatically determines the best source for historical data:

• hydat_path provided (path to database): Uses local HYDAT database at that path

• hydat_path = FALSE: Forces use of web service (useful when HYDAT unavailable)

• hydat_path = NULL (default): Uses HYDAT default location, automatically falls back to web service if HYDAT is unavailable

Real-time (Provisional) Data:

Provisional data is retrieved from ECCC's real-time web service using the realtime_ws() function. This data covers approximately the last 18 months and is updated regularly. Since real-time data is collected at sub-daily intervals, values are aggregated to daily means to match the daily format of HYDAT data. For non-aggregated real-time data, use realtime_ws() directly.

Data Approval Status

The Approval column uses ECCC's terminology (see https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/contactus/faq_e.html):

• "final": Historical data from HYDAT or web service that has been approved by ECCC.

• "provisional": Real-time data from the web service representing the best available measurements, but subject to revision and not yet approved by ECCC.

Value

A tibble with class available combining final and provisional data with an additional Approval column indicating whether each record is "final" or "provisional". The object includes attributes for tracking data sources and query metadata.

See Also

Other available functions: available_flows()

Examples

## Not run: 
## Basic usage - get all available data
levels <- available_levels("08MF005")

## Multiple stations
levels <- available_levels(c("08MF005", "08NM116"))

## Get only recent data (last 2 years)
recent_levels <- available_levels(
  "08MF005",
  start_date = Sys.Date() - lubridate::years(2),
  end_date = Sys.Date()
)

## Force use of web service (when HYDAT not available)
levels_ws <- available_levels("08MF005", hydat_path = FALSE)

## End(Not run)

tidyhydat documentation built on June 12, 2026, 1:07 a.m.