Melksham Shaw water level
River gauge, South Brook, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
At 0.05 m, South Brook at Melksham Shaw is below normal for mid-October.
That puts it 0.03 m below the median of 0.08 m for mid-October, based on 10 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.04 m (+0.01 m).
The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.04 m and 0.08 m.
Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.
Compared with 10 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels
Key numbers
- Median for this date
- 0.08 m0.03 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.03 m – 0.25 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (10 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.00 m – 0.80 m
- Same day last year
- 0.04 m+0.01 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.04 m – 0.08 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.04 m – 0.71 m
- Highest on record
- 1.71 mJanuary 12, 2023
- Lowest on record
- 0.00 mJuly 12, 2019
On the river at Melksham Shaw
Low, clear water makes fish wary, and anglers often do better early and late in the day. For canoeists, shallow riffles mean scraped hulls and the odd portage.
Flood warnings for the area come from the Environment Agency.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 3.0 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melksham ClackersRiver gauge, Clackers Brook | 0.02 m | Very low | ±0 | 4.1 km |
| Corsham AqueductRiver gauge | 0.01 m | Very low | ±0 | 4.2 km |
| CorshamRiver gauge, River Avon | 0.02 m | Very low | ±0 | 4.3 km |
| SemingtonRiver gauge, Semington Brook | 0.32 m | Normal | ±0 | 5.7 km |
| MiddlehillRiver gauge, By Brook | 0.16 m | Very low | −0.03 m | 7.9 km |
| Chippenham GateRiver gauge | 43.15 m | Low | ±0 | 8.0 km |
| Trowbridge PaxcroftRiver gauge | 0.10 m | Very low | ±0 | 8.5 km |
| TrowbridgeRiver gauge, River Biss | 0.18 m | Low | −0.01 m | 8.8 km |
Questions and answers
How does South Brook at Melksham Shaw compare with last year?
It is 0.01 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.04 m.
What is a normal level for South Brook at Melksham Shaw in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.08 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.03 m and 0.25 m, based on 10 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 0.05 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Melksham Shaw today?
On 18 Oct 2026, 21:45 BST, the water level was 0.05 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Melksham Shaw rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is the level of Melksham Shaw normal?
Low for mid-October. Compared with 10 years of daily readings for this time of year.
What is the highest water level ever recorded at Melksham Shaw?
The highest level on record is 1.71 m on January 12, 2023. The lowest is 0.00 m on July 12, 2019.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:531189(Agency page)- Coordinates
51.39204, -2.16298(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 | 0.05 m | 2026-10-18 20:45 | Provisional |
Download
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Melksham Shaw (ea:531189). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/wiltshire/melksham-shaw
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