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Welches Dam water level

River gauge, Counter Drain, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Low for mid-October

Surface elevation

0.89m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.5 1.0 1.5 Highest onrecord 1.65 m Lowest on record 0.20 m

History

0.81.0mOct 12Oct 14Oct 16Oct 17Oct 19Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.81.0mOct 12Oct 16Oct 19Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.81.0mSep 19Sep 27Oct 4Oct 12Oct 19Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.81.0mSep 19Oct 4Oct 19Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.50.81.01.3mDec 2025Mar 2026May 2026Aug 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.50.81.01.3mDec 2025May 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
Surface elevation Normal range (10–90 %) Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

Counter Drain at Welches Dam is running below normal at 0.89 m.

That puts it 0.12 m below the median of 1.00 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings.

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.77 m and 0.97 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
1.00 m0.12 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.84 m – 1.13 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.70 m – 1.16 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.77 m – 0.97 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.49 m – 1.19 m
Highest on record
1.65 mDecember 24, 2020
Lowest on record
0.20 mMarch 4, 1999

Fishing and paddling

At low levels, many rivers become a walk-and-paddle trip. Fish hold in deeper pools and spook easily.

Flood alerts and warnings come from the Environment Agency.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 4.4 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 14° 7° 2.3 mm, 94% Wind 23 km/h
19 Mon 15° 10° 4.5 mm, 90% Wind 12 km/h
20 Tue 13° 11° 9.9 mm, 53% Wind 15 km/h
21 Wed 13° 7° 4.5 mm, 54% Wind 19 km/h
22 Thu 13° 5° 0.9 mm, 32% Wind 18 km/h
23 Fri 10° 7° 28 mm, 68% Wind 34 km/h
24 Sat 11° 4° – Wind 32 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:32 AM Sunset 05:58 PM Daylight 10 hr, 26 min First quarter 61%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Sutton GaultRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.69 m Normal −0.04 m 7.7 km
Welney CausewayRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.65 m Low −0.03 m 9.6 km
ElyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.61 m Normal +0.01 m 10 km
Soham LodeRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 1.57 m Low +0.01 m 12 km
EarithRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.75 m Normal −0.02 m 14 km
BrownshillRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.33 m Normal −0.01 m 17 km
Webbs Hole SluiceRiver gauge, Swavesey Drain 0.51 m Normal +0.02 m 18 km
IslehamRiver gauge, River Lark 2.13 m Normal ±0 20 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for Counter Drain at Welches Dam in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 1.00 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.84 m and 1.13 m, based on 21 years of records.

Is Welches Dam really 0.89 m deep?

No. 0.89 m is the height of the water surface above sea level (or the agency's vertical datum), not the depth of the water.

What is the water level of Welches Dam today?

On 19 Oct 2026, 18:00 BST, the surface elevation was 0.89 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Welches Dam rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Up 0.08 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Welches Dam 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 Welches Dam?

The highest level on record is 1.65 m on December 24, 2020. The lowest is 0.20 m on March 4, 1999.

How often is this data updated?

The Environment Agency publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:E62201 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.45168, 0.16397 (WGS84)
Vertical datum
ODN
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
Surface elevation 0.89 m 2026-10-19 17:00 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Welches Dam (ea:E62201). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/cambridgeshire/welches-dam

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