Pioneer Mills water level

Name: Pioneer Mills water level (Environment Agency)
Creator: Environment Agency
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

River gauge, River Irwell, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Directions

Very low for mid-October

Water level

0.29m Up 0.01 m over the last 24 hours

Measured 20 Oct 2026, 06:00 BST (24 min ago)

History

7 days 30 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

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

What this means

At 0.29 m, the River Irwell at Pioneer Mills is far below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.36 m below the median of 0.65 m for mid-October, based on 16 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.79 m (−0.50 m). The lowest reading on record is 0.26 m (May 11, 2011).

The water is rising: up 0.01 m over the past 24 hours. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.20 m and 1.38 m.

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

Compared with 16 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 0.65 m0.36 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 0.49 m – 0.98 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (16 years of records)
Normal range: 0.36 m – 3.70 m
Same day last year: 0.79 m−0.50 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 0.20 m – 1.38 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: −0.39 m – 1.76 m
Highest on record: 5.92 mDecember 26, 2015
Lowest on record: 0.26 mMay 11, 2011

On the river at Pioneer Mills

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 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.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 3.9 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 12° 7° – Wind 17 km/h

19 Mon 14° 8° 0.3 mm, 100% Wind 22 km/h

20 Tue 12° 10° 14 mm, 86% Wind 7 km/h

21 Wed 10° 6° 4.2 mm, 74% Wind 25 km/h

22 Thu 10° 4° – Wind 12 km/h

23 Fri 8° 6° 28 mm, 86% Wind 35 km/h

24 Sat 11° 5° 12 mm, 62% Wind 18 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:46 AM Sunset 06:04 PM Daylight 10 hr, 18 min First quarter 65%

Map

Other gauges on the River Irwell

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
KearsleyRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.78 m	Normal	±0	4.0 km
Bury GroundRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.33 m	Normal	±0	4.2 km
Littleton Road RiverRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.81 m	Low	±0	6.1 km
Manchester RacecourseRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.91 m	Normal	±0	7.5 km
Adelphi WeirRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.24 m	Normal	±0	9.1 km
Ramsbottom WeirRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.32 m	Normal	±0	9.8 km
StubbinsRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.13 m	Normal	±0	11 km
Irwell ValeRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.32 m	Normal	±0	13 km
Holt Mill BridgeRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.19 m	Normal	±0	15 km
Throstle MillRiver gauge, River Irwell	0.49 m	Normal	+0.01 m	17 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Blackford BridgeRiver gauge, River Roch	0.11 m	Low	+0.01 m	1.6 km
FarnworthRiver gauge, River Croal	0.09 m	Low	±0	4.8 km
Chestnut RoadRiver gauge, Worsley Brook	0.07 m	Very low	±0	8.4 km
Threadfold WayRiver gauge, Eagley Brook	0.21 m	Very low	±0	9.4 km
Collyhurst WeirRiver gauge, River Irk	0.14 m	Low	+0.01 m	9.5 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Irwell at Pioneer Mills compare with last year?

It is 0.50 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.79 m.

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

The median for mid-October is 0.65 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.49 m and 0.98 m, based on 16 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 0.29 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Pioneer Mills today?

On 20 Oct 2026, 06:00 BST, the water level was 0.29 m. Up 0.01 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Pioneer Mills rising or falling?

Up 0.01 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.06 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Pioneer Mills normal?

Very low for mid-October. Compared with 16 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Pioneer Mills?

The highest level on record is 5.92 m on December 26, 2015. The lowest is 0.26 m on May 11, 2011.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: Environment Agency
Station code: ea:690250 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 53.56152, -2.31699 (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	0.29 m	2026-10-20 05:00	Provisional

Download

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Pioneer Mills (ea:690250). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/greater-manchester/pioneer-mills

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