Chipping Sodbury water level
River gauge, Bristol Frome, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Right now
Lower than ever recorded here
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
The Bristol Frome at Chipping Sodbury is running at a record low at 0.34 m.
No reading on record has been lower: the old record low was 0.34 m, from September 27, 2009. That puts it 0.10 m below the median of 0.43 m for mid-October, based on 20 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.36 m (−0.03 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 0.33 m and 0.35 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
- 0.43 m0.10 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.36 m – 0.81 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (20 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.37 m – 2.10 m
- Same day last year
- 0.36 m−0.03 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.33 m – 0.35 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.32 m – 1.74 m
- Highest on record
- 2.38 mNovember 24, 2024
- Lowest on record
- 0.34 mSeptember 27, 2009
- Lowest on record
- 0.00 m below the lowest level on record
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 Bristol Frome
The Frome, historically the Froom, is a river that rises in Dodington Park, South Gloucestershire and flows southwesterly through Bristol to join the river Avon. It is approximately 20 miles (32 km) long, and the mean flow at Frenchay is 60 cubic feet per second (1.7 m3/s). The name Frome is shared with several other rivers in South West England and means 'fair, fine, brisk'. The river is known locally in east Bristol as the Danny.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 7.0 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on the Bristol Frome
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tubbs BottomRiver gauge, Bristol Frome | 0.08 m | Low | +0.10 m | 5.5 km |
| Frampton CotterellRiver gauge, Bristol Frome | 0.03 m | Very low | +0.01 m | 6.6 km |
| FrenchayRiver gauge, Bristol Frome | 0.33 m | Normal | +0.14 m | 11 km |
| EastvilleRiver gauge, Bristol Frome | 7.60 m | Normal | +0.09 m | 15 km |
| Bristol Harbour Passage StreetRiver gauge, Bristol Frome | 6.15 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 17 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West KingtonRiver gauge, By Brook | −0.01 m | Lowest on record | ±0 | 9.1 km |
| Bradley BridgeRiver gauge, Bradley Brook | 0.04 m | Normal | +0.07 m | 9.6 km |
| WickRiver gauge, River Boyd | 0.12 m | Normal | +0.01 m | 10 km |
| BittonRiver gauge, River Boyd | 0.10 m | Very low | −0.03 m | 14 km |
| Filton Southmead RoadRiver gauge, River Trym | 0.02 m | Normal | ±0 | 15 km |
| Bristol Netham LockRiver gauge, River Avon | 6.09 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 15 km |
Questions and answers
How does the Bristol Frome at Chipping Sodbury compare with last year?
It is 0.03 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.36 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 0.34 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Chipping Sodbury today?
On 19 Oct 2026, 22:15 BST, the water level was 0.34 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Chipping Sodbury rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is the level of Chipping Sodbury 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 Chipping Sodbury?
The highest level on record is 2.38 m on November 24, 2024. The lowest is 0.34 m on September 27, 2009.
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:53192(Agency page)- Coordinates
51.54206, -2.38595(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
| Parameter | Last value | Time (UTC) | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water level | 0.34 m | 2026-10-19 21:15 | Provisional |
Download
Embed this gauge
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Chipping Sodbury (ea:53192). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/gloucestershire/chipping-sodbury
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