Swallowfield water level
River gauge, River Blackwater, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Very low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
Low water at Swallowfield: the gauge reads 0.20 m, far below normal for mid-October.
The median for mid-October is 0.25 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.05 m below typical. A year ago it stood at 0.20 m as well. The lowest reading on record is 0.06 m (February 25, 1997).
It is still going down, by 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 0.15 m – 0.25 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
- 0.25 m0.05 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.21 m – 0.34 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.19 m – 0.95 m
- Same day last year
- 0.20 m0.00 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.15 m – 0.25 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.18 m – 1.15 m
- Highest on record
- 1.48 mJuly 20, 2007
- Lowest on record
- 0.06 mFebruary 25, 1997
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 Blackwater
The River Blackwater is a river in Essex, England. It rises as the River Pant in the northwest of the county, just east of Saffron Walden, and flows in a generally southeast direction to Bocking, near Braintree, via Great Sampford and Great Bardfield. At Bocking, it becomes the River Blackwater, and veers east to flow past Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall. It then veers south, flowing past Kelvedon and Witham, before reaching Maldon. There, it veers east again and empties into the Blackwater Estuary, which in turn meets the North Sea at Mersea Island. The river is connected to Domsey Brook in Essex.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 3.4 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 Blackwater
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swallowfield Side ChannelRiver gauge, River Blackwater | 0.19 m | Very low | −0.02 m | 0.0 km |
| EversleyRiver gauge, River Blackwater | 0.52 m | Very low | −0.02 m | 5.0 km |
| Blackwater BridgeRiver gauge, River Blackwater | 1.35 m | High | ±0 | 13 km |
| FarnboroughRiver gauge, River Blackwater | 0.60 m | Low | −0.01 m | 17 km |
| TonghamRiver gauge, River Blackwater | 0.65 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 22 km |
| OwerRiver gauge, River Blackwater | 0.06 m | Low | ±0 | 62 km |
| StistedRiver gauge, River Blackwater | 0.33 m | Very high | +0.03 m | 122 km |
| Appleford BridgeRiver gauge, River Blackwater | 0.37 m | Normal | ±0 | 122 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheepbridge Weir Mill StreamRiver gauge, River Loddon | 0.15 m | Very low | ±0 | 1.1 km |
| SheepbridgeRiver gauge, River Loddon | 0.15 m | Normal | ±0 | 1.1 km |
| Arborfield BridgeRiver gauge, River Loddon | 0.16 m | Low | −0.02 m | 3.2 km |
| Beech HillRiver gauge, Foudry Brook | 0.73 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 3.6 km |
| BramshillRiver gauge, River Hart | 0.13 m | Low | ±0 | 6.2 km |
| Longbridge MillRiver gauge, River Loddon | 0.22 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 8.0 km |
| WokinghamRiver gauge, Emm Brook | 0.45 m | Low | ±0 | 8.5 km |
| Blakes LockRiver gauge, River Kennet | 0.08 m | Low | +0.01 m | 8.7 km |
Questions and answers
Is the River Blackwater at Swallowfield higher than last year?
It is about the same as on this day last year, when the reading was 0.20 m.
What is a normal level for the River Blackwater at Swallowfield in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.25 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.21 m and 0.34 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 0.20 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Swallowfield today?
On 18 Oct 2026, 14:15 BST, the water level was 0.20 m. Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.
Is Swallowfield rising or falling?
Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Swallowfield 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 Swallowfield?
The highest level on record is 1.48 m on July 20, 2007. The lowest is 0.06 m on February 25, 1997.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:2469_w1TH(Agency page)- Coordinates
51.37756, -0.95253(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 | 0.20 m | 2026-10-18 13:15 | Provisional |
Download
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Swallowfield (ea:2469_w1TH). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/berkshire/swallowfield
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