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Houghton Bridge water level

River gauge, River Arun, West Sussex, United Kingdom

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Right now

Lower than ever recorded here

Surface elevation

0.87m Up 0.17 m over the last 24 hours

1 2 3 4 Highest onrecord 3.69 m Lowest on record 1.23 m

History

History
12mOct 13Oct 15Oct 17Oct 19Oct 20Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range12mOct 13Oct 17Oct 20Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
12mSep 20Sep 28Oct 5Oct 13Oct 20Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range12mSep 20Oct 5Oct 20Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
12mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range12mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
12mJanMarMayJulSepNov202612mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

Surface elevation Normal range (10–90 %) Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

The River Arun at Houghton Bridge is running at a record low at 0.87 m.

No reading on record has been lower: the old record low was 1.23 m, from June 27, 2000. That puts it 0.70 m below the median of 1.57 m for mid-October, based on 9 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 1.43 m (−0.56 m).

It has risen 0.17 m over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.31 m and 2.30 m.

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

Compared with the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date
1.57 m0.70 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.97 m – 1.84 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (9 years of records)
Normal range
1.40 m – 2.50 m
Same day last year
1.43 m−0.56 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.31 m – 2.30 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.47 m – 2.75 m
Highest on record
3.69 mDecember 25, 2013
Lowest on record
1.23 mJune 27, 2000
Lowest on record
0.36 m below the lowest level on record

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.

About the River Arun

River Arun

The River Arun is a river in the English county of West Sussex. At 37 miles (60 km) long, it is the longest river entirely in Sussex and one of the longest starting in Sussex after the River Medway, River Wey and River Mole. From the series of small streams that form its source in the area of St Leonard's Forest in the Weald, the Arun flows westwards through Horsham to Nowhurst where it is joined by the North River. Turning to the south, it is joined by its main tributary, the western River Rother, and continues through a gap in the South Downs to Arundel to join the English Channel at Littlehampton. It is one of the faster flowing rivers in England, and is tidal as far inland as Pallingham Quay, 25.5 miles (41.0 km) upstream from the sea at Littlehampton. The Arun gives its name to the Arun local government district of West Sussex.

Read more on Wikipedia

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

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 5.8 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 13° 7° 9.3 mm, 63% Wind 19 km/h
19 Mon 14° 7° 1.6 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 14° 5° 7.3 mm, 82% Wind 15 km/h
23 Fri 13° 7° 56 mm, 87% Wind 41 km/h
24 Sat 11° 3° – Wind 23 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:34 AM Sunset 06:02 PM Daylight 10 hr, 28 min Waxing gibbous 71%

Map

Other gauges on the River Arun

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
ArundelRiver gauge, River Arun 0.97 m Normal +0.54 m 4.8 km
Pulborough Swan BridgeRiver gauge, River Arun 0.79 m Normal −0.03 m 7.0 km
LittlehamptonRiver gauge, River Arun 1.02 m No reference yet +0.76 m 10.0 km
Ferring OutfallRiver gauge, River Arun −3.42 m Lowest on record −0.01 m 12 km
New BridgeRiver gauge, River Arun 6.74 m Normal +0.15 m 15 km
AlfoldeanRiver gauge, River Arun 0.20 m Normal +0.10 m 23 km
Provender MillRiver gauge, River Arun 35.23 m Normal +0.09 m 23 km
TanbridgeRiver gauge, River Arun 32.30 m Normal +0.01 m 23 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
HardhamRiver gauge, River Rother 0.28 m Normal +0.05 m 6.0 km
LodsbridgeRiver gauge, River Rother 0.53 m Normal +0.04 m 13 km
Halfway BridgeRiver gauge, River Lod 0.03 m Normal +0.01 m 14 km
BognorRiver gauge, Aldingbourne Rife −0.02 m Normal +0.06 m 14 km
GraylingwellRiver gauge, River Lavant 0.02 m Normal +0.02 m 16 km
Beeding BridgeRiver gauge, River Adur 0.78 m Normal ±0 17 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Arun at Houghton Bridge compare with last year?

It is 0.56 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 1.43 m.

Is Houghton Bridge really 0.87 m deep?

No. 0.87 m is the height of the water surface above sea level (or the agency's vertical datum), not the depth of the water.

What is the water level of Houghton Bridge today?

On 20 Oct 2026, 20:30 BST, the surface elevation was 0.87 m. Up 0.17 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Houghton Bridge rising or falling?

Up 0.17 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.11 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Houghton Bridge normal?

Lower than ever recorded here. Compared with the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Houghton Bridge?

The highest level on record is 3.69 m on December 25, 2013. The lowest is 1.23 m on June 27, 2000.

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:E9930 (Agency page)
Coordinates
50.89676, -0.54437 (WGS84)
Vertical datum
ODN
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
Surface elevation 0.87 m 2026-10-20 19:30 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Houghton Bridge (ea:E9930). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/west-sussex/houghton-bridge

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.