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Billingborough Ousemere water level

River gauge, South Forty Foot Drain, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Below the normal range

Water level

0.03m Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours

-1 0 1 2 Highest onrecord 2.03 m Lowest on record -0.75 m

History

0.040.060.08mOct 13Oct 15Oct 16Oct 18Oct 20Bottom of normal range0.040.060.08mOct 13Oct 16Oct 20Bottom of normal range
-0123mSep 20Sep 27Oct 5Oct 12Oct 20Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0123mSep 20Oct 5Oct 20Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
Water level Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

At 0.03 m, South Forty Foot Drain at Billingborough Ousemere is below normal.

The usual range here runs from 0.08 m to 1.10 m.

The level is falling, down 0.01 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between −0.02 m and 2.83 m.

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

Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Normal range
0.08 m – 1.10 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
−0.02 m – 2.83 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.02 m – 0.15 m
Highest on record
2.03 mJanuary 2, 2024
Lowest on record
−0.75 mMay 19, 2009

On the river at Billingborough Ousemere

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 South Forty Foot Drain

South Forty-Foot Drain

The South Forty-Foot Drain, also known as the Black Sluice Navigation, is the main channel for the land-drainage of the Black Sluice Level in the Lincolnshire Fens. It lies in eastern England between Guthram Gowt and the Black Sluice pumping station on The Haven, at Boston. The Drain has its origins in the 1630s, when the first scheme to make the Fen land available for agriculture was carried out by the Earl of Lindsey, and has been steadily improved since then. Water drained from the land entered The Haven by gravity at certain states of the tide until 1946, when the Black Sluice pumping station was commissioned.

Read more on Wikipedia

Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.

Weather at the gauge

The forecast is not available right now.

Sunrise 07:37 AM Sunset 05:57 PM Daylight 10 hr, 21 min First quarter 68%

Map

Other gauges on the South Forty Foot Drain

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
SwatonRiver gauge, South Forty Foot Drain 0.19 m Normal −0.01 m 3.2 km
Donington BridgeRiver gauge, South Forty Foot Drain 0.74 m Normal +0.01 m 5.8 km
Dowsby FenRiver gauge, South Forty Foot Drain 0.77 m Normal −0.03 m 6.8 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Pointon LodeRiver gauge −0.01 m Very low +0.02 m 3.3 km
IrnhamRiver gauge, East Glen River 0.02 m Low −0.01 m 11 km
Slea Tilting GateRiver gauge, River Slea 0.33 m Normal +0.01 m 12 km
Cranwell Line SluiceRiver gauge, River Slea 0.09 m Normal +0.01 m 13 km
Leasingham MillRiver gauge, River Slea 0.02 m Low −0.02 m 14 km
Burton CogglesRiver gauge, West Glen River −0.12 m Lowest on record ±0 15 km
Surfleet SluiceRiver gauge, River Glen 0.84 m Normal −0.01 m 17 km

Questions and answers

What is the typical range for South Forty Foot Drain at Billingborough Ousemere?

The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 0.08 m to 1.10 m for this gauge.

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 0.03 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Billingborough Ousemere today?

On 20 Oct 2026, 12:15 BST, the water level was 0.03 m. Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Billingborough Ousemere rising or falling?

Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Billingborough Ousemere normal?

Below the normal range. Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Billingborough Ousemere?

The highest level on record is 2.03 m on January 2, 2024. The lowest is −0.75 m on May 19, 2009.

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:E4483 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.89634, -0.34097 (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 0.03 m 2026-10-20 11:15 Provisional

Download

Embed this gauge

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Billingborough Ousemere (ea:E4483). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/lincolnshire/billingborough-ousemere

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