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Watford water level

River gauge, River Colne, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.19m Steady over the last 24 hours

0 1 Highest onrecord 1.69 m Lowest on record 0.01 m

History

History
0.150.200.25mOct 12Oct 14Oct 16Oct 17Oct 19Bottom of normal range0.150.200.25mOct 12Oct 16Oct 19Bottom of normal range
0.150.200.25mSep 19Sep 27Oct 4Oct 12Oct 19Bottom of normal range0.150.200.25mSep 19Oct 4Oct 19Bottom of normal range
0.30.50.8mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.30.50.8mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.4mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.20.4mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Colne at Watford is at 0.19 m, in the normal range for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 0.19 m, based on 21 years of readings, and the gauge is right on it. On the same day last year the reading was 0.20 m, a difference of −0.01 m.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.17 m and 0.20 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
0.19 m0.00 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.13 m – 0.25 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.12 m – 0.82 m
Same day last year
0.20 m−0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.17 m – 0.20 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.13 m – 0.51 m
Highest on record
1.69 mOctober 31, 2000
Lowest on record
0.01 mAugust 23, 1997

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 Colne

River Colne, Hertfordshire

The Colne is a river and a tributary of the River Thames in England. Just over half its course is in south Hertfordshire. Downstream, it forms the boundary between Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon. The confluence with the River Thames is on the Staines reach at Staines-upon-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: 1.7 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 12° 7° 3.1 mm, 95% Wind 19 km/h
19 Mon 13° 8° 3.2 mm, 96% Wind 16 km/h
20 Tue 13° 11° 15 mm, 69% Wind 8 km/h
21 Wed 12° 6° 13 mm, 52% Wind 29 km/h
22 Thu 11° 4° 0.9 mm, 73% Wind 14 km/h
23 Fri 13° 7° 25 mm, 78% Wind 37 km/h
24 Sat 13° 6° 2.8 mm, 55% Wind 26 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:33 AM Sunset 06:02 PM Daylight 10 hr, 29 min First quarter 60%

Map

Other gauges on the River Colne

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Moor LaneRiver gauge, River Colne 7.46 m Normal +0.01 m 5.9 km
London ColneyRiver gauge, River Colne 1.09 m Normal ±0 8.3 km
Denham ColneRiver gauge, River Colne 0.13 m Low +0.02 m 14 km
WillowbankRiver gauge, River Colne 0.82 m Very low +0.03 m 14 km
Iver, Clisbys BridgeRiver gauge, River Colne 0.32 m Normal +0.03 m 17 km
Farlows BridgeRiver gauge, River Colne 0.36 m Low +0.01 m 19 km
West DraytonRiver gauge, River Colne 0.43 m Low +0.02 m 20 km
Thorney Mill Road, West Drayton (Temporary)River gauge, River Colne 0.06 m Very low +0.05 m 20 km
Stanwell MillRiver gauge, River Colne 0.71 m Very high +0.04 m 24 km
Staines Trading EstateRiver gauge, River Colne 1.21 m Normal +0.02 m 28 km
Great YeldhamRiver gauge, River Colne 0.18 m Normal +0.07 m 75 km
Poole StreetRiver gauge, River Colne 0.09 m Normal +0.02 m 75 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
RadlettRiver gauge, Radlett Brook 0.38 m Normal ±0 4.6 km
Croxley GreenRiver gauge, River Gade 0.09 m Normal +0.01 m 4.8 km
Colney StreetRiver gauge, River Ver 0.15 m Normal +0.01 m 4.9 km
BorehamwoodRiver gauge, Borehamwood Brook 0.90 m Normal +0.01 m 6.4 km
RickmansworthRiver gauge, River Chess 0.08 m Normal ±0 6.4 km
Woodhall AvenueRiver gauge, River Pinn 0.20 m Very low +0.02 m 7.5 km
Waxwell LaneRiver gauge, River Pinn 0.16 m Very low +0.01 m 7.5 km
Pinner, Moss CloseRiver gauge, River Pinn 0.14 m Very low ±0 8.0 km

Questions and answers

Is the River Colne at Watford higher than last year?

No, it is 0.01 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.20 m.

What is a normal level for the River Colne at Watford in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.19 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.13 m and 0.25 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 0.19 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Watford today?

On 19 Oct 2026, 15:30 BST, the water level was 0.19 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Watford rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Watford 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 Watford?

The highest level on record is 1.69 m on October 31, 2000. The lowest is 0.01 m on August 23, 1997.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:2830TH (Agency page)
Coordinates
51.67065, -0.38023 (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 0.19 m 2026-10-19 14:30 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Watford (ea:2830TH). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/hertfordshire/watford

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.