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Polstead water level

River gauge, River Box, Suffolk, United Kingdom

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Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.11m

0.0 0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.25 m Lowest on record 0.07 m
Water level: 0.11 m. Low for mid-October.

History

History
0.20.40.6mOct 2025Dec 2025Mar 2026May 2026Aug 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.40.6mOct 2025Mar 2026Aug 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.10.20.30.4mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.10.20.30.4mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Box at Polstead is running below normal at 0.11 m.

The median for mid-October is 0.13 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.02 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.13 m, a difference of −0.01 m.

Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.11 m and 0.11 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
0.13 m0.02 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.11 m – 0.17 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.10 m – 0.68 m
Same day last year
0.13 m−0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.11 m – 0.11 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.07 m – 0.38 m
Highest on record
1.25 mJanuary 30, 1988
Lowest on record
0.07 mAugust 15, 1997

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, Natural Resources Wales or SEPA, depending on where you are.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 0.5 mm. Rain upstream usually reaches a river gauge after hours to days.

17 Sat 14° 7° 0.2 mm Wind 22 km/h
18 Sun 14° 8° 3.5 mm, 52 % Wind 24 km/h
19 Mon 13° 10° 6.3 mm, 57 % Wind 16 km/h
20 Tue 15° 12° 4.8 mm, 33 % Wind 17 km/h
21 Wed 14° 8° 2.5 mm, 43 % Wind 35 km/h
22 Thu 13° 7° 1.9 mm, 27 % Wind 41 km/h
23 Fri 12° 6° 3.2 mm, 48 % Wind 27 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:23 AM Sunset 06:02 PM Daylight 10h 39m First quarter 35 %

Map

Other gauges on the River Box

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
BoxfordRiver gauge, River Box 1.20 m Normal 0.00 m 3.5 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
LanghamRiver gauge, River Stour 0.25 m Very low 4.9 km
HadleighRiver gauge, River Brett 0.31 m Normal 0.00 m 6.4 km
Bures BridgeRiver gauge, River Stour 0.23 m Normal +0.01 m 8.7 km
LamarshRiver gauge, River Stour 0.36 m Normal 9.7 km
LexdenRiver gauge, River Colne 0.20 m Normal 12 km
Long MelfordRiver gauge, Chad Brook 0.20 m Normal 14 km
Earls ColneRiver gauge, River Colne 0.11 m Very low −0.01 m 15 km
CockfieldRiver gauge, River Brett 0.02 m Low 0.00 m 16 km

Questions and answers

Is the River Box at Polstead higher than last year?

No, it is 0.01 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.13 m.

How high and low has the River Box at Polstead been?

The highest reading on record is 1.25 m (January 30, 1988). The lowest is 0.07 m (August 15, 1997).

How often is Polstead updated?

Several times an hour. New readings from Environment Agency appear here as they arrive. Latest: Oct 17, 2026, 12:15 AM GMT+1.

What is the water level of Polstead today?

On Oct 17, 2026, 12:15 AM GMT+1, the water level was 0.11 m. Low.

Is the level of Polstead normal?

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 Polstead?

The highest level on record is 1.25 m on January 30, 1988. The lowest is 0.07 m on August 15, 1997.

How often is this data updated?

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:E22697 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.00394, 0.89097 (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 stage 0.11 m 2026-10-16 23:15 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Polstead (ea:E22697). Accessed October 16, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/suffolk/polstead

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.