Isleham water level

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

River gauge, River Lark, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Water level

2.13m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured 17 Oct 2026, 12:45 BST (35 min ago)

History

7 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

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

What this means

Water levels are unremarkable at Isleham, where the gauge shows 2.13 m.

That puts it 0.02 m above the median of 2.11 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 2.10 m (+0.03 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 2.12 m – 2.13 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: 2.11 m0.02 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date: 2.03 m – 2.17 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range: 1.94 m – 2.19 m
Same day last year: 2.10 m+0.03 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 2.12 m – 2.13 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 2.02 m – 2.17 m
Highest on record: 2.72 mJanuary 4, 2003
Lowest on record: 1.85 mAugust 4, 2000

For anglers and canoeists

This is an ordinary level for the river: most put-ins, beats and weirs behave as they usually do.

Many angling and canoe clubs check gauges like this one before heading out.

About the River Lark

The River Lark crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in England. It is a chalk river and a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have been used for navigation since Roman times, and improvements to its navigability were made in 1638 and in the early 18th century, when locks and staunches were built. Special powers to improve the river from Mildenhall to Bury St Edmunds were granted by statute. The upper terminus was on the northern edge of Bury St Edmunds, but a new dock was opened near the railway station after the Eastern Union Railway opened its line in 1846.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 3.4 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

17 Sat 13° 6° 0.4 mm, 45% Wind 21 km/h

18 Sun 14° 7° 4.8 mm, 63% Wind 25 km/h

19 Mon 14° 10° 1.7 mm, 53% Wind 14 km/h

20 Tue 14° 11° 1.4 mm, 37% Wind 17 km/h

21 Wed 12° 10° 15 mm, 45% Wind 21 km/h

22 Thu 14° 5° 0.8 mm, 31% Wind 20 km/h

23 Fri 13° 9° 9.2 mm, 54% Wind 36 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:27 AM Sunset 06:02 PM Daylight 10 hr, 34 min First quarter 40%

Map

Other gauges on the River Lark

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Barton Mills SluiceRiver gauge, River Lark	0.09 m	Very low	±0	8.1 km
TempleRiver gauge, River Lark	0.20 m	Low	+0.01 m	11 km
Fornham St MartinRiver gauge, River Lark	0.03 m	Low	−0.01 m	22 km
SicklesmereRiver gauge, River Lark	0.22 m	Low	±0	27 km
CloptonRiver gauge, River Lark	0.27 m	Normal	±0	61 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Beck BridgeRiver gauge, River Kennett	−0.11 m	Lowest on record	±0	3.1 km
FordhamRiver gauge, River Snail	0.08 m	Very low	−0.01 m	7.2 km
ElyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.62 m	Normal	±0	10.0 km
Soham LodeRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	1.57 m	Low	+0.01 m	11 km
Little OuseRiver gauge, River Little Ouse	1.60 m	Low	+0.01 m	14 km
LodeRiver gauge, Quy Water	0.06 m	Very low	±0	18 km
OusdenRiver gauge, River Kennett	0.23 m	Low	±0	18 km
Welches DamRiver gauge, Counter Drain	0.91 m	Low	+0.10 m	20 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Lark at Isleham compare with last year?

It is 0.03 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 2.10 m.

What is a normal level for the River Lark at Isleham in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 2.11 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 2.03 m and 2.17 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 2.13 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Isleham today?

On 17 Oct 2026, 12:45 BST, the water level was 2.13 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Isleham rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Isleham 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 Isleham?

The highest level on record is 2.72 m on January 4, 2003. The lowest is 1.85 m on August 4, 2000.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: Environment Agency
Station code: ea:E22374 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 52.35728, 0.41857 (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	2.13 m	2026-10-17 11:45	Provisional

Download

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<iframe src="https://nivelmap.com/embed/989?lang=en" width="360" height="230" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="Isleham water level"></iframe>

How to cite

Environment Agency: Isleham (ea:E22374). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/suffolk/isleham

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