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Earls Colne water level

River gauge, River Colne, Essex, United Kingdom

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Right now

Very low for late September

Water level

0.11m Steady over the last 24 hours

This gauge last reported 28 days ago. The value may be out of date; check the agency page before you rely on it.

0 1 2 Highest onrecord 2.16 m Lowest on record 0.06 m

History

History
0.10.20.30.4mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Sep 2026Bottom of normal range0.10.20.30.4mOct 2025Apr 2026Sep 2026Bottom of normal range
0.10.20.3mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.10.20.3mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

At 0.11 m, the River Colne at Earls Colne is far below normal for late September. That reading is from 21 Sept 2026, 09:45 BST, so the gauge may be offline or reporting late.

That puts it 0.03 m below the median of 0.14 m for late September, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.14 m (−0.03 m). The lowest reading on record is 0.06 m (August 21, 1997).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly.

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
0.14 m0.03 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.11 m – 0.20 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.04 m – 1.14 m
Same day last year
0.14 m−0.03 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.11 m – 0.13 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.08 m – 0.38 m
Highest on record
2.16 mOctober 22, 2001
Lowest on record
0.06 mAugust 21, 1997

On the river at Earls Colne

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.

About the River Colne

River Colne, Hertfordshire

The Colne is a river and a tributary of the River Thames in England. Just over half its course is in south Hertfordshire. Downstream, it forms the boundary between Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon. The confluence with the River Thames is on the Staines reach at Staines-upon-Thames.

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

18 Sun 14° 8° 8.7 mm, 100% Wind 24 km/h
19 Mon 14° 9° 3.9 mm, 97% Wind 11 km/h
20 Tue 14° 11° 5.3 mm, 50% Wind 18 km/h
21 Wed 14° 8° 3.3 mm, 53% Wind 26 km/h
22 Thu 14° 5° 0.9 mm, 38% Wind 23 km/h
23 Fri 12° 7° 38 mm, 75% Wind 36 km/h
24 Sat 10° 4° – Wind 26 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:29 AM Sunset 05:57 PM Daylight 10 hr, 28 min First quarter 56%

Map

Other gauges on the River Colne

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Poole StreetRiver gauge, River Colne 0.08 m Normal ±0 11 km
LexdenRiver gauge, River Colne 0.20 m Very low ±0 11 km
Great YeldhamRiver gauge, River Colne 0.18 m Normal +0.07 m 15 km
London ColneyRiver gauge, River Colne 1.09 m Normal ±0 72 km
WatfordRiver gauge, River Colne 0.18 m Normal ±0 80 km
Moor LaneRiver gauge, River Colne 7.46 m Normal +0.01 m 85 km
Denham ColneRiver gauge, River Colne 0.14 m Normal +0.02 m 91 km
WillowbankRiver gauge, River Colne 0.84 m Very low +0.03 m 91 km
Iver, Clisbys BridgeRiver gauge, River Colne 0.39 m Normal +0.05 m 93 km
Farlows BridgeRiver gauge, River Colne 0.33 m Very low −0.01 m 95 km
West DraytonRiver gauge, River Colne 0.43 m Normal +0.02 m 95 km
Thorney Mill Road, West Drayton (Temporary)River gauge, River Colne 0.10 m Normal +0.06 m 95 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Bures BridgeRiver gauge, River Stour 0.25 m Normal +0.02 m 6.7 km
LamarshRiver gauge, River Stour 0.38 m Low +0.02 m 6.9 km
StistedRiver gauge, River Blackwater 0.31 m Very high +0.04 m 8.3 km
BraintreeRiver gauge, Pods Brook 0.21 m Normal +0.02 m 14 km
Appleford BridgeRiver gauge, River Blackwater 0.37 m Normal ±0 14 km
BoxfordRiver gauge, River Box 1.21 m Normal +0.01 m 15 km
PolsteadRiver gauge, River Box 0.12 m Normal +0.01 m 15 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Colne at Earls Colne compare with last year?

It is 0.03 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.14 m.

What is a normal level for the River Colne at Earls Colne in late September?

The median for late September is 0.14 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.11 m and 0.20 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 0.11 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Earls Colne today?

On 21 Sept 2026, 09:45 BST, the water level was 0.11 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Earls Colne rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Earls Colne normal?

Very low for late September. Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Earls Colne?

The highest level on record is 2.16 m on October 22, 2001. The lowest is 0.06 m on August 21, 1997.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:E22744 (Agency page)
Coordinates
51.93571, 0.69722 (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 0.11 m 2026-09-21 08:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Earls Colne (ea:E22744). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/essex/earls-colne

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.