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Dronfield water level

River gauge, River Drone, Derbyshire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Very low for mid-October

Water level

-0.03m Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours

0.0 0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.08 m Lowest on record -0.11 m

History

History
-0.050.000.05mOct 10Oct 12Oct 14Oct 15Oct 17Bottom of normal range-0.050.000.05mOct 10Oct 14Oct 17Bottom of normal range
-0.10.00.1mSep 17Sep 25Oct 2Oct 10Oct 17Bottom of normal range-0.10.00.1mSep 17Oct 2Oct 17Bottom of normal range
-0.10.00.10.2mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Bottom of normal range-0.10.00.10.2mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Bottom of normal range
-0.10.00.10.2mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-0.10.00.10.2mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Drone at Dronfield is running far below normal at −0.03 m.

The median for mid-October is 0.02 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.05 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was −0.01 m, a difference of −0.02 m. The lowest reading on record is −0.11 m (August 21, 1995).

It has dropped 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between −0.11 m and 0.07 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
0.02 m0.05 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
−0.02 m – 0.07 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.00 m – 0.70 m
Same day last year
−0.01 m−0.02 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
−0.11 m – 0.07 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
−0.11 m – 0.20 m
Highest on record
1.08 mOctober 27, 1998
Lowest on record
−0.11 mAugust 21, 1995

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.

About the River Drone

River Drone

The River Drone is a river which flows south from its source on the Sheffield, South Yorkshire, border. It flows through Dronfield, Unstone and Unstone Green in Derbyshire before merging at Sheepbridge to the north of Chesterfield with the Barlow Brook. Below the junction, it is often referred to as the River Whitting. It then flows south-east till it merges with the River Rother at Brimington Road North (B6050) at Chesterfield. It is one of the three main tributaries of the Rother.

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

17 Sat 11° 5° – Wind 18 km/h
18 Sun 11° 6° – Wind 19 km/h
19 Mon 12° 8° 5.4 mm, 79% Wind 19 km/h
20 Tue 12° 9° 5.2 mm, 49% Wind 12 km/h
21 Wed 11° 8° 3.8 mm, 47% Wind 20 km/h
22 Thu 13° 5° 1.5 mm, 37% Wind 15 km/h
23 Fri 11° 6° 26 mm, 78% Wind 31 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:36 AM Sunset 06:08 PM Daylight 10 hr, 31 min First quarter 40%

Map

Other gauges on the River Drone

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Dronfield DamRiver gauge, River Drone 0.04 m Very low −0.03 m 0.9 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Dore Twenty Well LaneRiver gauge, River Sheaf 0.35 m High −0.02 m 3.9 km
SheepbridgeRiver gauge, River Whitting 0.07 m Low ±0 4.4 km
Sheffield Centenary WorksRiver gauge, River Sheaf −0.04 m Very low ±0 5.5 km
WhittingtonRiver gauge, River Rother 0.23 m Low −0.06 m 5.8 km
Sheffield MeersbrookRiver gauge, Meers Brook 0.52 m Normal −0.01 m 5.9 km
Chesterfield AshgateRiver gauge, Holme Brook 0.02 m Normal −0.02 m 6.8 km
Chesterfield Tapton BridgeRiver gauge, River Rother 0.06 m Low −0.04 m 7.8 km
HighfieldRiver gauge, River Sheaf 0.15 m Low −0.02 m 7.9 km

Questions and answers

Is the River Drone at Dronfield higher than last year?

No, it is 0.02 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was −0.01 m.

What is a normal level for the River Drone at Dronfield in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.02 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between −0.02 m and 0.07 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 −0.03 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Dronfield today?

On 17 Oct 2026, 14:15 BST, the water level was −0.03 m. Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Dronfield rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Dronfield 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 Dronfield?

The highest level on record is 1.08 m on October 27, 1998. The lowest is −0.11 m on August 21, 1995.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:L0215 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.30272, -1.47251 (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 −0.03 m 2026-10-17 13:15 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Dronfield (ea:L0215). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/derbyshire/dronfield

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.