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Maiden Newton water level

River gauge, River Frome, Dorset, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.19m Steady over the last 24 hours

0 1 2 Highest onrecord 2.07 m Lowest on record 0.05 m

History

History
-0.00.20.4mOct 11Oct 13Oct 15Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range-0.00.20.4mOct 11Oct 15Oct 18Bottom of normal range
-0.00.20.4mSep 18Sep 26Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Bottom of normal range-0.00.20.4mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
-0.00.51.0mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0.00.51.0mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-0.00.51.0mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-0.00.51.0mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Frome at Maiden Newton is running below normal at 0.19 m.

That puts it 0.05 m below the median of 0.23 m for mid-October, based on 13 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.20 m (−0.02 m).

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 0.17 m and 0.28 m.

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

Compared with 13 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date
0.23 m0.05 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.18 m – 0.40 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (13 years of records)
Normal range
0.02 m – 0.74 m
Same day last year
0.20 m−0.02 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.17 m – 0.28 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
−0.39 m – 0.92 m
Highest on record
2.07 mJuly 7, 2012
Lowest on record
0.05 mSeptember 4, 2013

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 Frome

River Frome, Dorset

The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles (48 km) long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham.

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

17 Sat 13° 6° – Wind 21 km/h
18 Sun 13° 5° 0.3 mm Wind 19 km/h
19 Mon 13° 8° 0.4 mm, 69% Wind 19 km/h
20 Tue 13° 8° 6.4 mm, 69% Wind 12 km/h
21 Wed 15° 7° 2.6 mm, 75% Wind 29 km/h
22 Thu 14° 6° 4.4 mm, 86% Wind 21 km/h
23 Fri 12° 8° 33 mm, 88% Wind 40 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:38 AM Sunset 06:14 PM Daylight 10 hr, 36 min First quarter 49%

Map

Other gauges on the River Frome

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Louds MillRiver gauge, River Frome 0.07 m Low ±0 13 km
StinsfordRiver gauge, River Frome 0.03 m Lowest on record ±0 13 km
East StokeRiver gauge, River Frome 0.53 m Very low −0.02 m 29 km
Bristol Wade StreetRiver gauge, River Frome 5.97 m No reference yet −0.02 m 76 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Sydling St NicholasRiver gauge, Sydling Water 0.06 m Very low ±0 4.2 km
Dickley DownGroundwater well 151.68 m Lowest on record −0.02 m 5.7 km
HookeRiver gauge, River Hooke 0.11 m Very low ±0 6.2 km
Kingston RussellGroundwater well 104.02 m Normal −0.02 m 6.8 km
PowerstockRiver gauge, Mangerton Brook 0.08 m Normal ±0 8.2 km
Winterbourne SteepletonRiver gauge 0.05 m Very low ±0 8.6 km
Litton CheneyRiver gauge, Litton Cheney Stream 0.09 m Low ±0 8.6 km
ChetnoleRiver gauge, River Wriggle 0.11 m Normal ±0 11 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Frome at Maiden Newton compare with last year?

It is 0.02 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.20 m.

What is a normal level for the River Frome at Maiden Newton in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.23 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.18 m and 0.40 m, based on 13 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 0.19 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Maiden Newton today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST, the water level was 0.19 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Maiden Newton rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Maiden Newton normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 13 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Maiden Newton?

The highest level on record is 2.07 m on July 7, 2012. The lowest is 0.05 m on September 4, 2013.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:44204 (Agency page)
Coordinates
50.77656, -2.57435 (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 0.19 m 2026-10-18 12:00 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Maiden Newton (ea:44204). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/dorset/maiden-newton

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.