This data contains information on active precipitation gauges in Ontario. These precipitation gauges: * measure how much rainfall/precipitation falls on the ground (mm) * are peripherals to hydrometric monitoring stations within the Ontario Hydrometric Network Rainfall and snowmelt are primary causes of flooding in Ontario. The lack of precipitation often causes low water and drought conditions. Data from the gauges is collected and maintained by the Surface Water Monitoring Centre (SWMC). The data supports SWMC and partner organization such as conservation authorities, on the local and provincial scale, with: * flood forecasting and warning * drought monitoring The SWMC transfers precipitation data to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). This happens through an automated process integrated into the SWMC corporate water and climate database. ECCC publishes and maintains a variety of datasets on their Meteorological Services of Canada Datamart, a publicly accessible source for meteorological and hydrological data. This data source has 24/7 operational service and provides support on a best effort basis during normal business hours.

Point locations of water and weather monitoring stations used by the [Surface Water Monitoring Centre](http://www.ontario.ca/page/surface-water-monitoring-centre) to assess flood and drought conditions across Ontario. Monitoring station types include: * streamflow gauge stations * Environment and Climate Change Canada climate stations * Ministry of Transportation road weather stations * Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) fire weather stations * MNRF snow network stations (wildlife) * MNRF snow survey stations (weather) * Ontario Power Generation snow survey stations (weather)