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Bessy Brook water level

River gauge, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Directions

Below the normal range

Water level

0.04m Steady over the last 24 hours

0 1 Highest onrecord 1.78 m Lowest on record -0.03 m

History

0.050.100.15mOct 12Oct 14Oct 15Oct 17Oct 19Bottom of normal range0.050.100.15mOct 12Oct 15Oct 19Bottom of normal range
-0.00.20.4mSep 19Sep 26Oct 4Oct 11Oct 19Bottom of normal range-0.00.20.4mSep 19Oct 4Oct 19Bottom of normal range
Water level Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

At 0.04 m, Bessy Brook is below normal.

The usual range here runs from 0.10 m to 1.08 m.

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.02 m and 0.42 m.

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

Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Normal range
0.10 m – 1.08 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.02 m – 0.42 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.02 m – 0.26 m
Highest on record
1.78 mMay 16, 2021
Lowest on record
−0.03 mJuly 13, 2018

On the river at Bessy Brook

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.

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.

18 Sun 12° 6° – Wind 18 km/h
19 Mon 13° 7° 2.1 mm, 38% Wind 26 km/h
20 Tue 12° 8° 9.3 mm, 71% Wind 9 km/h
21 Wed 10° 7° 3.0 mm, 69% Wind 25 km/h
22 Thu 11° 5° 4.2 mm, 49% Wind 16 km/h
23 Fri 8° 5° – Wind 22 km/h
24 Sat 10° 5° 3.6 mm, 89% Wind 31 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:45 AM Sunset 06:07 PM Daylight 10 hr, 22 min First quarter 57%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Horwich Pearl BrookRiver gauge, Pearl Brook 0.29 m Normal ±0 4.3 km
Threadfold WayRiver gauge, Eagley Brook 0.21 m Very low −0.01 m 6.3 km
First AvenueRiver gauge, Borsdane Brook 0.15 m Normal −0.02 m 7.0 km
FarnworthRiver gauge, River Croal 0.09 m Low −0.01 m 7.4 km
Lilford Park, LeighRiver gauge, Atherton Lake Brook 0.16 m Low −0.01 m 7.8 km
Size Bridge, TyldesleyRiver gauge, Ellenor Brook 0.08 m Low ±0 8.6 km
KearsleyRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.78 m Normal −0.02 m 8.8 km
Sportsman Street, LeighRiver gauge, Westleigh Brook 0.14 m Low −0.03 m 8.8 km

Questions and answers

What is the typical range for Bessy Brook?

The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 0.10 m to 1.08 m for this gauge.

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

What is the water level of Bessy Brook today?

On 19 Oct 2026, 07:45 BST, the water level was 0.04 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Bessy Brook rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Bessy Brook normal?

Below the normal range. Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Bessy Brook?

The highest level on record is 1.78 m on May 16, 2021. The lowest is −0.03 m on July 13, 2018.

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:690420 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.57474, -2.49639 (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 0.04 m 2026-10-19 06:45 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: Bessy Brook (ea:690420). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/greater-manchester/bessy-brook

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