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Chesterfield water level

River gauge, River Hipper, Derbyshire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Lower than ever recorded here

Water level

0.33m Steady over the last 24 hours

0 1 3 4 Highest onrecord 3.59 m Lowest on record 0.33 m

History

History
0.350.400.45mOct 11Oct 12Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.350.400.45mOct 11Oct 14Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.350.400.45mSep 18Sep 25Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.350.400.45mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.40.50.6mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Bottom of normal range0.40.50.6mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Bottom of normal range
0.40.50.6mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.40.50.6mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

Low water at Chesterfield: the gauge reads 0.33 m, at a record low.

That is below the previous record low of 0.33 m (September 2, 2003), so the gauge is setting a new low. That puts it 0.05 m below the median of 0.38 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.35 m (−0.02 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 0.33 m – 0.36 m.

Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.

Compared with the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date
0.38 m0.05 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.35 m – 0.46 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.36 m – 1.10 m
Same day last year
0.35 m−0.02 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.33 m – 0.36 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.33 m – 0.66 m
Highest on record
3.59 mOctober 20, 2023
Lowest on record
0.33 mSeptember 2, 2003
Lowest on record
0.00 m below the lowest level on record

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 Hipper

River Hipper

The River Hipper is a tributary of the River Rother in Derbyshire, England. Its source is a large expanse of wetlands, fed by the surrounding moors between Chatsworth and Chesterfield, known as the Hipper Sick on Beeley Moor, which is part of the Chatsworth Estate. It then passes through Holymoorside and down into Chesterfield, just south of the town centre, before flowing into the River Rother. In July 2007, parts of Chesterfield flooded when the River Hipper burst its banks during a substantial storm that caused extensive flooding in North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire. The river burst its banks again after torrential rain in October 2023. The surrounding landscape is known as the Hipper Valley.

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: 5.4 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 12° 7° 0.2 mm Wind 19 km/h
19 Mon 13° 9° 7.4 mm, 99% Wind 20 km/h
20 Tue 12° 9° 9.7 mm, 69% Wind 10 km/h
21 Wed 11° 7° 0.2 mm, 59% Wind 21 km/h
22 Thu 12° 5° 0.6 mm, 43% Wind 17 km/h
23 Fri 8° 7° 6.9 mm, 68% Wind 23 km/h
24 Sat 9° 4° 0.5 mm, 53% Wind 28 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:38 AM Sunset 06:05 PM Daylight 10 hr, 27 min First quarter 46%

Map

Other gauges on the River Hipper

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Chesterfield Park Road BridgeRiver gauge, River Hipper −0.02 m Very low ±0 1.6 km
HolymoorsideRiver gauge, River Hipper 0.02 m Low ±0 2.9 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Chesterfield AshgateRiver gauge, Holme Brook 0.02 m Normal ±0 1.3 km
Chesterfield St AugustinesRiver gauge, River Rother 0.21 m Normal −0.02 m 2.0 km
Hady HillRiver gauge, River Rother 0.52 m Normal −0.03 m 2.4 km
Chesterfield Tapton BridgeRiver gauge, River Rother 0.06 m Low −0.02 m 2.4 km
Chesterfield Avenue WashlandsRiver gauge, River Rother 0.20 m Normal ±0 3.1 km
Chesterfield Calow LaneRiver gauge, Calow Brook 0.12 m Normal −0.02 m 3.8 km
SheepbridgeRiver gauge, River Whitting 0.06 m Very low ±0 4.3 km
WhittingtonRiver gauge, River Rother 0.22 m Low −0.03 m 4.9 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Hipper at Chesterfield compare with last year?

It is 0.02 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.35 m.

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 0.33 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Chesterfield today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 05:15 BST, the water level was 0.33 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Chesterfield rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Chesterfield normal?

Lower than ever recorded here. Compared with the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Chesterfield?

The highest level on record is 3.59 m on October 20, 2023. The lowest is 0.33 m on September 2, 2003.

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:L0235 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.23118, -1.45466 (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 0.33 m 2026-10-18 04:15 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: Chesterfield (ea:L0235). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/derbyshire/chesterfield

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.