Copley water level
River gauge, River Gaunless, Durham, United Kingdom
Right now
Very low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
At 0.07 m, the River Gaunless at Copley is far below normal for mid-October.
That puts it 0.05 m below the median of 0.12 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.08 m (−0.01 m). The lowest reading on record is −0.07 m (August 9, 2003).
The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly.
Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.
Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels
Key numbers
- Median for this date
- 0.12 m0.05 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.08 m – 0.21 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.00 m – 0.60 m
- Same day last year
- 0.08 m−0.01 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.01 m – 0.48 m
- Highest on record
- 1.00 mJuly 17, 2009
- Lowest on record
- −0.07 mAugust 9, 2003
On the river at Copley
Low, clear water makes fish wary, and anglers often do better early and late in the day. For canoeists, shallow riffles mean scraped hulls and the odd portage.
Flood warnings for the area come from the Environment Agency.
About the River Gaunless
The Gaunless is a tributary river of the Wear in County Durham, England. Its name is Old Norse, meaning "useless". The Gaunless Viaduct, built in 1825, was the tallest viaduct on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 0.8 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on the River Gaunless
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LowlandsRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.07 m | Normal | ±0 | 4.9 km |
| Ramshaw MillRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.07 m | Very low | +0.01 m | 7.3 km |
| Spring Gardens DamRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.10 m | Lowest on record | −0.01 m | 8.3 km |
| West AucklandRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.13 m | Normal | ±0 | 9.7 km |
| Dovecote HillRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.47 m | Very low | ±0 | 13 km |
| South ChurchRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.05 m | Lowest on record | ±0 | 14 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BedburnRiver gauge, Bedburn Beck | 0.10 m | Very low | ±0 | 7.9 km |
| Oakley Cross BeckRiver gauge | 0.20 m | Low | ±0 | 9.2 km |
| Barnard CastleRiver gauge, River Tees | 0.44 m | Low | −0.06 m | 9.3 km |
| Witton ParkRiver gauge, River Wear | 0.32 m | Very low | ±0 | 10 km |
| Crook West Bridge StreetRiver gauge, Crook Beck | 0.01 m | Very low | +0.01 m | 13 km |
Questions and answers
How does the River Gaunless at Copley compare with last year?
It is 0.01 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.08 m.
What is a normal level for the River Gaunless at Copley in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.12 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.08 m and 0.21 m, based on 21 years of records.
Is the river level the same as the depth of the water?
No. The reading is measured from a fixed zero mark at the gauge, so 0.07 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Copley today?
On 17 Oct 2026, 06:45 BST, the water level was 0.07 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Copley rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is the level of Copley normal?
Very low for mid-October. Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year.
What is the highest water level ever recorded at Copley?
The highest level on record is 1.00 m on July 17, 2009. The lowest is −0.07 m on August 9, 2003.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:024014(Agency page)- Coordinates
54.62006, -1.86833(WGS84)- Vertical datum
- station datum
- Update interval
- every 15 minutes
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Environment Agency data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Published series
| Parameter | Last value | Time (UTC) | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water level | 0.07 m | 2026-10-17 05:45 | Provisional |
Download
Embed this gauge
Add a live card for this gauge to your website. It updates on its own and links back here.
How to cite
Environment Agency: Copley (ea:024014). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/durham/copley
How we check values
Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.
Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer