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Cornwood water level

River gauge, River Yealm, Devon, United Kingdom

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Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.17m Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours

0 1 2 Highest onrecord 2.59 m Lowest on record 0.06 m

History

History
0.10.20.3mOct 10Oct 12Oct 14Oct 15Oct 17Bottom of normal range0.10.20.3mOct 10Oct 14Oct 17Bottom of normal range
0.10.20.3mSep 17Sep 25Oct 2Oct 10Oct 17Bottom of normal range0.10.20.3mSep 17Oct 2Oct 17Bottom of normal range
-0.00.51.01.5mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0.00.51.01.5mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-0.00.51.0mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-0.00.51.0mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %) Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

Low water at Cornwood: the gauge reads 0.17 m, below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.04 m below the median of 0.20 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.15 m (+0.02 m).

It is still going down, by 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 0.11 m – 0.31 m.

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
0.20 m0.04 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.14 m – 0.33 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.11 m – 1.50 m
Same day last year
0.15 m+0.02 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.11 m – 0.31 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.07 m – 1.01 m
Highest on record
2.59 mJuly 7, 2012
Lowest on record
0.06 mJuly 14, 2010

For anglers and canoeists

Low rivers are hard going for paddlers, with exposed gravel and weirs that are awkward to shoot. Salmon and sea trout usually wait for the next spate to run.

Many angling and canoe clubs check gauges like this one before heading out.

About the River Yealm

River Yealm

The Yealm is a river in Devon in England that rises 430 m (1,410 ft) above sea level on the Stall Moor mires of south Dartmoor and travels 12 miles (19 km) to the sea, passing through Cornwood, Lee Mill and Yealmpton, a mid-sized village with a population of c.2,000 which is its largest settlement, before reaching its estuary which forms a ria bounded on its western side by Wembury. A deep inlet of this ria forms the waterfront to Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo on its eastern side.

Read more on Wikipedia

Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 4.1 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

17 Sat 13° 7° – Wind 13 km/h
18 Sun 13° 6° – Wind 15 km/h
19 Mon 12° 8° 7.3 mm, 58% Wind 21 km/h
20 Tue 13° 8° 3.0 mm, 45% Wind 11 km/h
21 Wed 12° 3° 0.9 mm, 53% Wind 34 km/h
22 Thu 12° 7° 11 mm, 90% Wind 26 km/h
23 Fri 13° 8° 52 mm, 96% Wind 44 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:42 AM Sunset 06:22 PM Daylight 10 hr, 40 min First quarter 42%

Map

Other gauges on the River Yealm

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
PuslinchRiver gauge, River Yealm 0.24 m Very low −0.04 m 9.0 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
HarfordRiver gauge, River Erme 0.39 m Normal −0.07 m 3.0 km
Newnham ParkRiver gauge, Tory Brook 0.35 m Very low ±0 6.0 km
ErmingtonRiver gauge, River Erme 0.26 m Low −0.04 m 7.0 km
PlymptonRiver gauge, Long Brook 0.18 m Normal ±0 8.0 km
DidworthyRiver gauge, River Avon 0.31 m Normal −0.02 m 8.0 km
CarnwoodRiver gauge, River Plym 0.22 m Very low −0.06 m 8.9 km
HorrabridgeRiver gauge, River Walkham 0.23 m Very low −0.02 m 14 km
Buckfastleigh Higher Town BridgeRiver gauge, River Mardle 0.48 m Normal ±0 14 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Yealm at Cornwood compare with last year?

It is 0.02 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.15 m.

What is a normal level for the River Yealm at Cornwood in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.20 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.14 m and 0.33 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 0.17 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Cornwood today?

On 17 Oct 2026, 17:30 BST, the water level was 0.17 m. Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Cornwood rising or falling?

Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.03 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Cornwood normal?

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 Cornwood?

The highest level on record is 2.59 m on July 7, 2012. The lowest is 0.06 m on July 14, 2010.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:47132 (Agency page)
Coordinates
50.41786, -3.95944 (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

ParameterLast valueTime (UTC)Quality
Water level 0.17 m 2026-10-17 16:30 Provisional

Download

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Cornwood (ea:47132). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/devon/cornwood

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.