Malheur River Basin – Streamflow, Reservoir & Canal Gages

About the Malheur River Basin

The Malheur Basin, as defined by the Oregon Water Resources Department, covers the Malheur River of southeast Oregon, which rises in the Strawberry and Blue mountains and flows east through high-desert canyons past Drewsey, Juntura and Vale to the Snake River at Ontario, together with its North and South forks and Bully and Willow creeks. Spring snowmelt brings most of the year’s water, and nearly all of it is stored and diverted for irrigation in the Vale and Ontario areas. Warm Springs Reservoir, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Vale Project reservoirs at Beulah (Agency Valley Dam) and Bully Creek, and Malheur Reservoir on Willow Creek are popular for fishing and camping. River Flow Planner covers 12 gages here: the Malheur River near Drewsey, below Warm Springs Reservoir, below Nevada Dam near Vale (records back to 1909) and near Ontario, the North Fork above and below Beulah Reservoir, the South Fork near Riverside, the four reservoirs and the Bully Creek canal. The Idaho Power gage at Namorf and the observation-only NOAA gauges on Bully and Willow creeks have no public daily records, so they are not included.

What River Flow Planner shows for each gage

Each gage page turns the agency’s full daily record into planning tools for fishing, rafting, kayaking, swimming, boating, irrigation and in-stream work:

• Summary hydrograph of typical flows, river stages or lake levels through the year
• Percent of time flows fall within a range you choose
• Likely range of flows on future dates you pick
• How a recent period compares with normal, plus a year-by-year spaghetti plot
• Flood frequency statistics for USGS gages with peak-flow records
• CSV downloads and links to current real-time data and short-term forecasts

Malheur River

The Malheur River from Drewsey through Warm Springs Reservoir and Vale to Ontario, listed upstream to downstream.

North & South Forks Malheur River

The South Fork near Riverside and the North Fork above and below Beulah Reservoir.

Lake & Reservoir Levels

Water-surface elevations of Warm Springs, Beulah (Agency Valley), Bully Creek and Malheur reservoirs.

Canals & Diversions

Irrigation canal flow released at Bully Creek Dam.

Other basins

Rogue River Basin · Klamath River Basin · Deschutes River Basin · North Coast Basin · Mid Coast Basin · Umpqua River Basin · South Coast Basin · Willamette River Basin · Sandy River Basin · Hood River Basin · John Day River Basin · Umatilla River Basin · Grande Ronde River Basin · Powder River Basin · Owyhee River Basin · Malheur Lake Basin · Goose & Summer Lakes Basin