generated: '2026-07-27'
method: searched
source: >-
  live service metadata captured 2026-07-27 plus a targeted search of
  hydro.mb.ca (880-URL English sitemap, robots.txt, subdomain probes) for
  versioning, deprecation, SLA and status pages
summary: >-
  There is no API lifecycle here to speak of, and that is the finding. Manitoba
  Hydro publishes no API version policy, no deprecation policy, no sunset
  signalling, no SLA, no changelog, and no status page. The surfaces this repo
  catalogues are live map layers and static files that can be renamed, reshaped,
  or withdrawn without notice — and one of them demonstrably already was.

versioning:
  scheme: none (platform version only)
  current: null
  docs: null
  detail:
  - surface: ArcGIS REST (hosted, services2.arcgis.com)
    reported_version: '12'
    field: currentVersion
    note: >-
      Esri platform release, not a Manitoba Hydro API version. No version
      segment in the path, no version header, no negotiation.
  - surface: ArcGIS REST (on-premise, maps.hydro.mb.ca)
    reported_version: '10.91'
    field: currentVersion
    note: ArcGIS Server release. Lags the hosted platform by several major versions.
  - surface: OGC WFS
    reported_version: 2.0.0
    field: version attribute on wfs:WFS_Capabilities / version query parameter
    note: >-
      The only formally versioned contract Manitoba Hydro exposes, and it is a
      standard's version rather than the provider's.
  - surface: KISTERS hydrological JSON
    reported_version: null
    note: Unversioned static files.
  stability_note: >-
    Service names, layer indexes and attribute names are the only identifiers a
    consumer can bind to, and Manitoba Hydro has made no commitment to keep any
    of them stable.

deprecation:
  policy_url: null
  policy_published: false
  sunset_header: false
  deprecation_header: false
  deprecated_operations: []
  observed_silent_deprecation:
  - surface: KISTERS hydrological JSON
    old_path: https://www.hydro.mb.ca/hydrologicalData/data/
    new_path: https://www.hydro.mb.ca/hydrologicalData/static/data/
    evidence: >-
      The older tree still returns HTTP 200 and still serves a 10.6 MB
      stationdata.json for 154 stations, but its observation files are frozen at
      February 2021 readings. The /static/ tree carries same-day readings for
      169 stations. Nothing anywhere announces the move, marks the old tree
      stale, or redirects.
    consumer_impact: >-
      A consumer who integrated against the older path five years ago is still
      getting HTTP 200 and still getting data — five-year-old data. This is the
      concrete cost of having no deprecation policy.
  note: >-
    No Sunset (RFC 8594) or Deprecation (RFC 9745) header was observed on any
    response. No Deprecation pointer is asserted in apis.yml because no
    deprecation policy exists to point at.

sla:
  url: null
  uptime_target: null
  note: >-
    No service level agreement, availability target, or support commitment is
    published for any data surface. There is no developer support channel; the
    only contact route is the general customer support line at
    https://www.hydro.mb.ca/support/contact/, which exists to serve energy
    customers, not API consumers.

status_page: null
status_page_note: >-
  No status page exists. https://status.hydro.mb.ca/ does not resolve in DNS,
  and no /status path was found in the 880-URL English sitemap. The public
  outage map at https://www.hydro.mb.ca/outages/outage-map/ reports the status
  of the ELECTRICITY GRID, not of the data services, and must not be mistaken
  for a service status page — no StatusPage pointer is asserted for this
  provider.

change_log: null
change_log_note: >-
  No API or data changelog. Manitoba Hydro's news feed at
  https://www.hydro.mb.ca/articles/ is corporate and customer communications and
  has never carried a data or service change notice. No ChangeLog artifact
  pointer is asserted.

data_freshness:
  outage_layers:
    refresh_interval: 5 minutes
    evidence: >-
      Manitoba Hydro's own ArcGIS Online item description for the planned
      outages layer states "This data is updated every 5 minutes."
    freshness_field: DATA_LAST_UPDATE
  hydrological:
    refresh_interval: sub-hourly, unstated
    evidence: >-
      Water Level readings were timestamped the same day as capture
      (2026-07-27 08:20 local on the first station returned).
    disclaimer: >-
      Manitoba Hydro states the readings are "preliminary and are being
      transmitted automatically without verification or review for quality
      assurance" and that it "does not warrant the quality, accuracy, or
      completeness of any information."

terms_and_licence:
  api_terms: null
  data_licence: null
  evidence: >-
    The ArcGIS Online items carry licenseInfo: null. No terms of use governs
    reuse of the data. The site-wide terms at
    https://www.hydro.mb.ca/terms-of-use/ address website use and copyright and
    say nothing about data or API consumption.
  risk: >-
    Consumers are operating without a licence grant. The data is reachable, but
    nothing has been published that permits redistribution.

cross_links:
  conventions: conventions/manitoba-hydro-conventions.yml
  conformance: conformance/manitoba-hydro-conformance.yml
  errors: errors/manitoba-hydro-problem-types.yml