Fordham water level
River gauge, River Snail, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
At 0.10 m, the River Snail at Fordham is below normal for mid-October.
The median for mid-October is 0.12 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.02 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.09 m, a difference of +0.01 m.
It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.08 m and 0.10 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
- 0.12 m0.02 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.10 m – 0.14 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.05 m – 0.17 m
- Same day last year
- 0.09 m+0.01 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.08 m – 0.10 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.08 m – 0.19 m
- Highest on record
- 0.49 mApril 10, 1998
- Lowest on record
- 0.06 mAugust 6, 1992
On the river at Fordham
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.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 4.8 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beck BridgeRiver gauge, River Kennett | −0.11 m | Lowest on record | ±0 | 6.6 km |
| IslehamRiver gauge, River Lark | 2.13 m | Normal | ±0 | 7.2 km |
| Soham LodeRiver gauge, River Great Ouse | 1.57 m | Low | +0.02 m | 8.9 km |
| LodeRiver gauge, Quy Water | 0.06 m | Very low | ±0 | 10 km |
| ElyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse | 0.61 m | Normal | +0.02 m | 11 km |
| Barton Mills SluiceRiver gauge, River Lark | 0.10 m | Very low | +0.01 m | 13 km |
| Cambridge Baits BiteRiver gauge, River Cam | 0.20 m | Low | ±0 | 14 km |
| TempleRiver gauge, River Lark | 0.20 m | Very low | ±0 | 16 km |
Questions and answers
Is the River Snail at Fordham higher than last year?
Yes, it is 0.01 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.09 m.
What is a normal level for the River Snail at Fordham in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.12 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.10 m and 0.14 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 0.10 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Fordham today?
On 18 Oct 2026, 22:30 BST, the water level was 0.10 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Fordham rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is the level of Fordham 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 Fordham?
The highest level on record is 0.49 m on April 10, 1998. The lowest is 0.06 m on August 6, 1992.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:E21765(Agency page)- Coordinates
52.30691, 0.35110(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 | 0.10 m | 2026-10-18 21:30 | Provisional |
Download
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Fordham (ea:E21765). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/cambridgeshire/fordham
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