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Blackford Bridge water level

River gauge, River Roch, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.12m Steady over the last 24 hours

0 1 3 4 Highest onrecord 3.36 m Lowest on record 0.02 m

History

History
0.10.20.3mOct 13Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18Oct 190.10.20.3mOct 13Oct 16Oct 19
0.20.4mSep 20Sep 27Oct 4Oct 12Oct 190.20.4mSep 20Oct 4Oct 19
-0.00.20.4mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026-0.00.20.4mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026
-0.00.20.4mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-0.00.20.4mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Roch at Blackford Bridge is at 0.12 m, in the normal range for mid-October.

That puts it 0.03 m below the median of 0.15 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.08 m (+0.04 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.05 m and 0.54 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
0.15 m0.03 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.09 m – 0.33 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Same day last year
0.08 m+0.04 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.05 m – 0.54 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.03 m – 0.52 m
Highest on record
3.36 mDecember 26, 2015
Lowest on record
0.02 mSeptember 23, 2025

Fishing and paddling

Paddlers and anglers can expect the river much as they know it, though a heavy shower upstream can change that within hours.

Flood alerts and warnings come from the Environment Agency.

About the River Roch

River Roch

The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell.

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

18 Sun 12° 5° – Wind 15 km/h
19 Mon 14° 8° 1.0 mm, 63% Wind 21 km/h
20 Tue 13° 8° 9.5 mm, 69% Wind 9 km/h
21 Wed 10° 7° 1.0 mm, 63% Wind 18 km/h
22 Thu 12° 5° 5.4 mm, 45% Wind 14 km/h
23 Fri 8° 6° – Wind 22 km/h
24 Sat 10° 5° 2.0 mm, 89% Wind 26 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:44 AM Sunset 06:06 PM Daylight 10 hr, 22 min First quarter 63%

Map

Other gauges on the River Roch

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
RochdaleRiver gauge, River Roch 0.16 m Normal +0.01 m 9.1 km
Albert Royds BridgeRiver gauge, River Roch 0.36 m Normal +0.02 m 12 km
LittleboroughRiver gauge, River Roch 0.16 m Normal +0.03 m 16 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Pioneer MillsRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.29 m Very low ±0 1.6 km
Bury GroundRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.34 m Normal ±0 3.8 km
KearsleyRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.81 m Normal +0.01 m 5.6 km
Littleton Road RiverRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.84 m Low +0.01 m 6.3 km
FarnworthRiver gauge, River Croal 0.09 m Low ±0 6.4 km
Manchester RacecourseRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.94 m Normal +0.01 m 7.5 km
Collyhurst WeirRiver gauge, River Irk 0.15 m Normal ±0 9.0 km
Adelphi WeirRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.27 m Normal +0.01 m 9.1 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Roch at Blackford Bridge compare with last year?

It is 0.04 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.08 m.

What is a normal level for the River Roch at Blackford Bridge in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.15 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.09 m and 0.33 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 0.12 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Blackford Bridge today?

On 19 Oct 2026, 23:45 BST, the water level was 0.12 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Blackford Bridge rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Down 0.05 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Blackford Bridge normal?

Normal for mid-October. Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Blackford Bridge?

The highest level on record is 3.36 m on December 26, 2015. The lowest is 0.02 m on September 23, 2025.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:690205 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.56579, -2.29326 (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 0.12 m 2026-10-19 22:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Blackford Bridge (ea:690205). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/greater-manchester/blackford-bridge

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.