Hardham water level

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

River gauge, River Rother, West Sussex, United Kingdom

Directions

Within the normal range

Water level

0.23m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured 18 Oct 2026, 22:30 BST (1 hour ago)

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

The River Rother at Hardham is at 0.23 m, within its typical range.

The usual range here runs from 0.21 m to 2.25 m.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.21 m and 0.27 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: 0.21 m – 2.25 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 0.21 m – 0.27 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 0.22 m – 0.24 m
Highest on record: 2.89 mDecember 24, 2013
Lowest on record: 0.00 mApril 25, 1984

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 Rother

The River Rother flows for 35 miles (56 km) through the English counties of East Sussex and Kent. Its source is near Rotherfield in East Sussex, and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel. Prior to 1287, its mouth was further to the east at New Romney, but it changed its course after a great storm blocked its exit to the sea. It was known as the Limen until the sixteenth century. For the final 14 miles (23 km), the river bed is below the high tide level, and Scots Float Sluice is used to control levels. It prevents salt water entering the river system at high tides, and retains water in the river during the summer months to ensure the health of the surrounding marsh habitat. Below the sluice, the river is tidal for 3.7 miles (6.0 km).

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 4.6 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 13° 7° 8.3 mm, 63% Wind 20 km/h

19 Mon 14° 7° 1.8 mm, 57% Wind 12 km/h

20 Tue 13° 10° 11 mm, 58% Wind 10 km/h

21 Wed 15° 8° 2.1 mm, 47% Wind 28 km/h

22 Thu 15° 5° 7.3 mm, 82% Wind 15 km/h

23 Fri 14° 7° 56 mm, 87% Wind 41 km/h

24 Sat 11° 3° – Wind 23 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:30 AM Sunset 06:06 PM Daylight 10 hr, 35 min First quarter 53%

Map

Other gauges on the River Rother

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
LodsbridgeRiver gauge, River Rother	0.49 m	Normal	−0.01 m	11 km
Iping MillRiver gauge, River Rother	0.25 m	Low	±0	19 km
Princes MarshRiver gauge, River Rother	0.06 m	Low	±0	28 km
BurwashRiver gauge, River Rother	0.11 m	Normal	±0	65 km
UdiamRiver gauge, River Rother	0.14 m	Normal	±0	74 km
Rye HarbourTidal gauge, River Rother	−1.20 m	No reference yet	+0.48 m	89 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Pulborough Swan BridgeRiver gauge, River Arun	0.89 m	Normal	−0.09 m	1.3 km
Houghton BridgeRiver gauge, River Arun	0.35 m	Lowest on record	±0	6.0 km
New BridgeRiver gauge, River Arun	6.68 m	Normal	−0.08 m	8.9 km
ArundelRiver gauge, River Arun	−0.37 m	Normal	±0	11 km
Halfway BridgeRiver gauge, River Lod	0.03 m	Normal	±0	11 km
DrungewickRiver gauge, River Lox	0.04 m	Very low	±0	13 km
Ferring OutfallRiver gauge, River Arun	−3.45 m	Lowest on record	−0.02 m	17 km
Beeding BridgeRiver gauge, River Adur	0.78 m	Normal	±0	17 km

Questions and answers

What is the typical range for the River Rother at Hardham?

The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 0.21 m to 2.25 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 0.23 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Hardham today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 22:30 BST, the water level was 0.23 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Hardham rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Hardham 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 Hardham?

The highest level on record is 2.89 m on December 24, 2013. The lowest is 0.00 m on April 25, 1984.

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:E29202 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 50.94971, -0.52958 (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	0.23 m	2026-10-18 21:30	Provisional

Download

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<iframe src="https://nivelmap.com/embed/2547?lang=en" width="360" height="230" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="Hardham water level"></iframe>

How to cite

Environment Agency: Hardham (ea:E29202). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/west-sussex/hardham

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