Information regarding the spatial and temporal distribution of water resources is critical for effective water management. This information can be partly obtained through a carefully designed network of hydrometeorological and stream gauging stations. However, comprehensive spatial measurements are often lacking, and in sparsely instrumented regions, obtaining such observations becomes even more challenging._x000D_ _x000D_ Launched in 2022, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite provides valuable data to support water management. These data include observations of water surface elevations in rivers more than 100 m wide and lakes more than 250 m x 250 m at a global scale._x000D_ _x000D_ This research assesses the value of SWOT data for hydrological modelling. We first compare the SWOT observations with data collected by the Water Survey of Canada (WSC). This comparison is performed systematically by looking at: i) data extracted at locations within the SWOT River Database (SWORD) obtained from the high-rate stream pixel cloud vector product; and ii) data extracted from the high-rate stream raster product. The SWOT observations are then assessed to be used in a data assimilation framework using the MESH (Modélisation Environnementale communautaire - Surface Hydrology) model.
