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Kearsley water level

River gauge, River Irwell, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.78m Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours

0 3 5 Highest onrecord 6.33 m Lowest on record 0.46 m

History

0.60.81.01.2mOct 12Oct 14Oct 15Oct 17Oct 19Bottom of normal range0.60.81.01.2mOct 12Oct 15Oct 19Bottom of normal range
1.01.5mSep 19Sep 26Oct 4Oct 11Oct 19Bottom of normal range1.01.5mSep 19Oct 4Oct 19Bottom of normal range
0.51.01.52.0mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Bottom of normal range0.51.01.52.0mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Bottom of normal range
0.51.01.52.0mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.51.01.52.0mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

Water levels are unremarkable at Kearsley, where the gauge shows 0.78 m.

That puts it 0.04 m below the median of 0.83 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.71 m (+0.07 m).

It is still going down, by 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 0.67 m – 1.86 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
0.83 m0.04 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.66 m – 1.15 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.62 m – 4.05 m
Same day last year
0.71 m+0.07 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.67 m – 1.86 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.65 m – 1.99 m
Highest on record
6.33 mDecember 26, 2015
Lowest on record
0.46 mJuly 27, 2013

For anglers and canoeists

This is an ordinary level for the river: most put-ins, beats and weirs behave as they usually do.

Many angling and canoe clubs check gauges like this one before heading out.

About the River Irwell

River Irwell

The River Irwell is a tributary of the River Mersey in north-west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately 1+1⁄2 miles north of Bacup and flows southwards for 39 mi (63 km) to meet the Mersey near Irlam Locks. The Irwell marks the boundary between Manchester and Salford, and its lower reaches have been canalised and now form part of the Manchester Ship Canal.

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

18 Sun 12° 5° – Wind 13 km/h
19 Mon 14° 8° 1.4 mm, 63% Wind 19 km/h
20 Tue 12° 8° 9.2 mm, 69% Wind 7 km/h
21 Wed 10° 7° 1.9 mm, 63% Wind 19 km/h
22 Thu 12° 5° 3.9 mm, 45% Wind 15 km/h
23 Fri 8° 6° – Wind 22 km/h
24 Sat 10° 5° 2.4 mm, 89% Wind 28 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:44 AM Sunset 06:06 PM Daylight 10 hr, 22 min First quarter 56%

Map

Other gauges on the River Irwell

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Pioneer MillsRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.27 m Very low −0.02 m 4.0 km
Littleton Road RiverRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.80 m Low −0.02 m 6.8 km
Bury GroundRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.33 m Normal −0.02 m 7.3 km
Manchester RacecourseRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.91 m Normal −0.03 m 8.4 km
Adelphi WeirRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.24 m Normal −0.02 m 9.7 km
Ramsbottom WeirRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.33 m Normal −0.03 m 12 km
StubbinsRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.13 m Normal −0.01 m 14 km
Irwell ValeRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.33 m Normal −0.01 m 15 km
Holt Mill BridgeRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.19 m Normal −0.01 m 18 km
Throstle MillRiver gauge, River Irwell 0.48 m Normal ±0 20 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
FarnworthRiver gauge, River Croal 0.09 m Low −0.01 m 1.6 km
Blackford BridgeRiver gauge, River Roch 0.10 m Low −0.01 m 5.6 km
Chestnut RoadRiver gauge, Worsley Brook 0.07 m Low ±0 5.8 km
Size Bridge, TyldesleyRiver gauge, Ellenor Brook 0.08 m Low ±0 7.3 km
Threadfold WayRiver gauge, Eagley Brook 0.21 m Very low −0.01 m 8.4 km
Bessy BrookRiver gauge 0.04 m Low −0.01 m 8.8 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Irwell at Kearsley compare with last year?

It is 0.07 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.71 m.

What is a normal level for the River Irwell at Kearsley in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.83 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.66 m and 1.15 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 0.78 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Kearsley today?

On 19 Oct 2026, 07:30 BST, the water level was 0.78 m. Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Kearsley rising or falling?

Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.05 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Kearsley 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 Kearsley?

The highest level on record is 6.33 m on December 26, 2015. The lowest is 0.46 m on July 27, 2013.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:690503 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.54644, -2.37196 (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 0.78 m 2026-10-19 06:30 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: Kearsley (ea:690503). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/greater-manchester/kearsley

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