Description: Oil sands mining in Alberta transforms the boreal landscape of forests and wetlands into open pits, tailings ponds, and overburden piles. Whereas reclamation efforts have primarily focused on upland forests, rebuilding wetland systems has recently become a motivation for research. Wetland creation and sustainability in this region is complicated by the sub-humid climate and salinity of underlying mining material. In 2012, Syncrude Canada Ltd. completed construction of the Sandhill Fen Watershed (SFW), a 52-ha upland-wetland system to evaluate wetland reclamation strategies on soft tailings. SFW includes an active pumping system, upland hummocks, a fen wetland and underdrains. To evaluate the influence of management practices on the hydrology of the system, this study reports the water balance from January 2013 – December 2014; the first two years after commissioning. A semi-distributed approach was taken to examine the fluxes and stores of water in uplands and lowlands. Natural and artificial inputs and outputs were measured using a series of precipitation gauges and pumps, and evapotranspiration (ET) was quantified using three eddy covariance towers . A series of near surface wells recorded water table (WT) position. Both 2013 and 2014 were normal rainfall years, with 2013 having more and 2014 less snow than normal. In 2013, inflow/outflow from pumping were the predominant hydrological fluxes, resulting in considerable variability in water table position and storage changes throughout the summer. In 2014, the artificial addition of water was negligible, yet the water table remained near the surface in lowland locations, suggesting wetland conditions could be maintained under current conditions. ET rates between uplands and lowlands were similar between years and sites, ranging from 2.2 ± 1.8 mm d -1 to 2.5 ± 1.2 mm d -1 , and were largely controlled by climate. These rates were less than a nearby older upland systems, suggesting water balance partitioning will change as vegetation develops. Comparison between years and with natural systems provides insight on how management practices influence hydrologic dynamics and the overall water balance of the SFW. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.