Oxlease water level

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

River gauge, River Test, Hampshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Low for mid-October

Surface elevation

14.91m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured 18 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST (33 min ago)

History

7 days 30 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

Surface elevation Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

At 14.91 m, the River Test at Oxlease is below normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 15.01 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.10 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 14.89 m, a difference of +0.02 m.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 14.91 m and 14.93 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: 15.01 m0.10 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 14.89 m – 15.10 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Same day last year: 14.89 m+0.02 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 14.91 m – 14.93 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 14.90 m – 15.41 m

On the river at Oxlease

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 Test

The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for 40 miles (64 km) to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. The river's valley gives its name to the local government district of Test Valley. Below the village of Longparish, the river is broadly followed by the Test Way, a long-distance footpath.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 5.0 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

17 Sat 14° 5° – Wind 18 km/h

18 Sun 13° 6° 0.2 mm, 30% Wind 19 km/h

19 Mon 14° 7° 0.7 mm, 57% Wind 17 km/h

20 Tue 14° 8° 4.5 mm, 55% Wind 14 km/h

21 Wed 13° 8° 1.7 mm, 66% Wind 21 km/h

22 Thu 15° 5° 3.8 mm, 74% Wind 19 km/h

23 Fri 14° 8° 30 mm, 84% Wind 36 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:34 AM Sunset 06:09 PM Daylight 10 hr, 35 min First quarter 49%

Map

Other gauges on the River Test

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
RivermeadRiver gauge, River Test	10.95 m	High	±0	0.9 km
LongbridgeRiver gauge, River Test	0.74 m	Lowest on record	−0.01 m	4.3 km
Conagar BridgeRiver gauge, River Test	0.39 m	Very low	−0.01 m	6.1 km
Stockbridge MainRiver gauge, River Test	33.83 m	Very low	−0.01 m	13 km
Stockbridge SideRiver gauge, River Test	0.48 m	Very low	−0.01 m	13 km
Chilbolton SideRiver gauge, River Test	0.66 m	Very low	−0.02 m	18 km
WherwellRiver gauge, River Test	0.19 m	Lowest on record	−0.01 m	19 km
Whitchurch MainRiver gauge, River Test	0.02 m	Low	±0	28 km
Whitchurch SideRiver gauge, River Test	0.12 m	Normal	±0	28 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
FishlakeRiver gauge, Fishlake Stream	0.46 m	Normal	−0.01 m	0.2 km
Brewery GrillRiver gauge, Oxlease Drain	16.91 m	Normal	±0	0.5 km
Plaza GrillRiver gauge, Barge Canal	16.27 m	Low	±0	0.9 km
Romsey Botley RoadRiver gauge, Tadburn Lake	0.31 m	High	±0	1.2 km
OwerRiver gauge, River Blackwater	0.06 m	Low	±0	5.2 km
DunbridgeRiver gauge, River Dun	22.96 m	Very low	±0	5.5 km
Chandler's FordRiver gauge, Monks Brook	0.07 m	Normal	±0	8.2 km

Questions and answers

Is the River Test at Oxlease higher than last year?

Yes, it is 0.02 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 14.89 m.

What is a normal level for the River Test at Oxlease in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 15.01 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 14.89 m and 15.10 m, based on 21 years of records.

Is Oxlease really 14.91 m deep?

No. 14.91 m is the height of the water surface above sea level (or the agency's vertical datum), not the depth of the water.

What is the water level of Oxlease today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST, the surface elevation was 14.91 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Oxlease rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Oxlease normal?

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

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:E13490 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 50.99622, -1.49855 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: ODN
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
Surface elevation	14.91 m	2026-10-18 12:00	Provisional

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<iframe src="https://nivelmap.com/embed/2533?lang=en" width="360" height="230" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="Oxlease water level"></iframe>

How to cite

Environment Agency: Oxlease (ea:E13490). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/hampshire/oxlease

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