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SwedenSwaton water level
River gauge, South Forty Foot Drain, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Within the normal range
Water level
History
What this means
South Forty Foot Drain at Swaton is at 0.17 m, within its typical range.
The usual range here runs from 0.15 m to 1.45 m.
It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between −0.09 m and 2.50 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
- 0.15 m – 1.45 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- −0.09 m – 2.50 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.08 m – 0.68 m
- Highest on record
- 2.63 mJuly 19, 2007
- Lowest on record
- 0.00 mOctober 4, 2009
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 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.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 4.3 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on the South Forty Foot Drain
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billingborough OusemereRiver gauge, South Forty Foot Drain | 0.03 m | Low | ±0 | 3.2 km |
| Donington BridgeRiver gauge, South Forty Foot Drain | 0.74 m | Normal | +0.02 m | 4.6 km |
| Dowsby FenRiver gauge, South Forty Foot Drain | 0.79 m | Normal | +0.03 m | 8.6 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pointon LodeRiver gauge | −0.14 m | Very low | ±0 | 6.1 km |
| Slea Tilting GateRiver gauge, River Slea | 0.34 m | Normal | ±0 | 10 km |
| Cranwell Line SluiceRiver gauge, River Slea | 0.09 m | Normal | ±0 | 11 km |
| Leasingham MillRiver gauge, River Slea | 0.02 m | Low | ±0 | 12 km |
| IrnhamRiver gauge, East Glen River | 0.00 m | Very low | ±0 | 14 km |
| Ruskington BeckRiver gauge | 0.27 m | Normal | ±0 | 15 km |
| Langrick BridgeRiver gauge, River Witham | 1.28 m | Normal | +0.01 m | 17 km |
Questions and answers
What is the typical range for South Forty Foot Drain at Swaton?
The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 0.15 m to 1.45 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 0.17 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Swaton today?
On 18 Oct 2026, 22:30 BST, the water level was 0.17 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Swaton rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Swaton normal?
Within the normal range. Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge.
What is the highest water level ever recorded at Swaton?
The highest level on record is 2.63 m on July 19, 2007. The lowest is 0.00 m on October 4, 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:E4485(Agency page)- Coordinates
52.92211, -0.31916(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 | 0.17 m | 2026-10-18 21:30 | Provisional |
Download
Embed this gauge
Add a live card for this gauge to your website. It updates on its own and links back here.
How to cite
Environment Agency: Swaton (ea:E4485). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/lincolnshire/swaton
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