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Harpenden water level

River gauge, River Lee, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Very low for mid-October

Water level

0.75m Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours

0 1 Highest onrecord 1.69 m Lowest on record -0.08 m

History

History
0.70.8mOct 12Oct 14Oct 15Oct 17Oct 19Bottom of normal range0.70.8mOct 12Oct 15Oct 19Bottom of normal range
0.70.8mSep 19Sep 26Oct 4Oct 11Oct 19Bottom of normal range0.70.8mSep 19Oct 4Oct 19Bottom of normal range
0.70.80.9mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Bottom of normal range0.70.80.9mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Bottom of normal range
0.70.80.9mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.70.80.9mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Lee at Harpenden is running far below normal at 0.75 m.

The median for mid-October is 0.81 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.06 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.77 m, a difference of −0.03 m. The lowest reading on record is −0.08 m (August 23, 2006).

It has risen 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.72 m and 0.84 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
0.81 m0.06 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.77 m – 0.88 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.70 m – 1.30 m
Same day last year
0.77 m−0.03 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.72 m – 0.84 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.76 m – 0.98 m
Highest on record
1.69 mSeptember 23, 2024
Lowest on record
−0.08 mAugust 23, 2006

Fishing and paddling

At low levels, many rivers become a walk-and-paddle trip. Fish hold in deeper pools and spook easily.

Flood alerts and warnings come from the Environment Agency.

About the River Lee

River Lea

The River Lea is a river in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of the largest rivers in London and the easternmost major tributary of the Thames.

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

18 Sun 13° 7° 3.5 mm, 91% Wind 22 km/h
19 Mon 14° 9° 4.7 mm, 95% Wind 13 km/h
20 Tue 12° 10° 9.4 mm, 59% Wind 12 km/h
21 Wed 13° 7° 3.3 mm, 49% Wind 21 km/h
22 Thu 13° 5° 0.4 mm, 48% Wind 18 km/h
23 Fri 10° 7° 37 mm, 76% Wind 36 km/h
24 Sat 10° 4° – Wind 26 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:33 AM Sunset 06:01 PM Daylight 10 hr, 28 min First quarter 58%

Map

Other gauges on the River Lee

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Luton East HydeRiver gauge, River Lee 1.10 m Normal ±0 3.0 km
Luton, Stockingstone RoadRiver gauge, River Lee 0.03 m Low ±0 8.9 km
Luton, Toddington RoadRiver gauge, River Lee −0.01 m Low +0.01 m 12 km
WaterhallRiver gauge, River Lee 0.12 m Low +0.01 m 17 km
Hoddesdon, Rye BridgeRiver gauge, River Lee 2.84 m Normal ±0 25 km
Walthamstow, Low HallRiver gauge, River Lee 0.07 m Normal +0.02 m 35 km
Lea BridgeRiver gauge, River Lee 5.87 m Very high +0.01 m 36 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
RedbournRiver gauge, River Ver 0.04 m Normal ±0 5.0 km
RedbournRiver gauge, River Red 0.02 m Normal +0.33 m 5.3 km
WhitwellRiver gauge, River Mimram 0.05 m Normal ±0 6.9 km
MarkyateRiver gauge, River Ver −0.04 m Very low ±0 7.8 km
Fulling MillRiver gauge, River Mimram 0.07 m Normal ±0 8.7 km
Gadebridge ParkRiver gauge, River Gade 0.10 m Lowest on record +0.01 m 12 km
London ColneyRiver gauge, River Colne 1.09 m Normal ±0 13 km

Questions and answers

Is the River Lee at Harpenden higher than last year?

No, it is 0.03 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.77 m.

What is a normal level for the River Lee at Harpenden in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.81 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.77 m and 0.88 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 0.75 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Harpenden today?

On 19 Oct 2026, 11:15 BST, the water level was 0.75 m. Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Harpenden rising or falling?

Up 0.02 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.02 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Harpenden normal?

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

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Harpenden?

The highest level on record is 1.69 m on September 23, 2024. The lowest is −0.08 m on August 23, 2006.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:4650TH (Agency page)
Coordinates
51.83055, -0.34792 (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 0.75 m 2026-10-19 10:15 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Harpenden (ea:4650TH). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/hertfordshire/harpenden

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.