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Fairmile water level

River gauge, River Tale, Devon, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.34m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Highest onrecord 1.82 m Lowest on record 0.25 m

History

History
0.300.350.400.45mOct 16Oct 16Oct 16Oct 16Oct 17Bottom of normal range0.300.350.400.45mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Bottom of normal range
0.51.0mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.51.0mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.30.50.81.0mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.30.50.81.0mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Tale at Fairmile is at 0.34 m, in the normal range for mid-October.

That puts it 0.04 m above the median of 0.30 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.27 m (+0.07 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.34 m and 0.36 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
0.30 m0.04 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.27 m – 0.44 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.27 m – 1.20 m
Same day last year
0.27 m+0.07 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.34 m – 0.36 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.20 m – 0.98 m
Highest on record
1.82 mJanuary 27, 2026
Lowest on record
0.25 mSeptember 21, 2005

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.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 2.9 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

17 Sat 13° 4° – Wind 16 km/h
18 Sun 13° 2° – Wind 19 km/h
19 Mon 12° 8° 4.2 mm, 61% Wind 19 km/h
20 Tue 12° 6° 2.7 mm, 53% Wind 15 km/h
21 Wed 12° 5° 6.0 mm, 67% Wind 46 km/h
22 Thu 13° 7° 0.9 mm, 40% Wind 21 km/h
23 Fri 13° 8° 17 mm, 75% Wind 42 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:40 AM Sunset 06:19 PM Daylight 10 hr, 39 min First quarter 38%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Fenny BridgesRiver gauge, River Otter 0.19 m Very low −0.01 m 3.0 km
Rockbeare BridgeRiver gauge, Ford Stream 0.41 m Low ±0 7.1 km
SidburyRiver gauge, River Sid 0.45 m Very high ±0 7.6 km
AshclystRiver gauge, River Clyst 0.13 m Normal ±0 7.8 km
HonitonRiver gauge, The Gissage 0.03 m Very low ±0 7.9 km
Sidmouth Higher Woolbrook RoadRiver gauge, Wool Brook 0.09 m Lowest on record ±0 8.2 km
HonitonRiver gauge, Glen Stream 0.00 m Lowest on record ±0 8.5 km
DottonRiver gauge, River Otter 0.23 m Low ±0 8.8 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Tale at Fairmile compare with last year?

It is 0.07 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.27 m.

What is a normal level for the River Tale at Fairmile in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.30 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.27 m and 0.44 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 0.34 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Fairmile today?

On 17 Oct 2026, 08:00 BST, the water level was 0.34 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Fairmile rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Fairmile 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 Fairmile?

The highest level on record is 1.82 m on January 27, 2026. The lowest is 0.25 m on September 21, 2005.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:45214 (Agency page)
Coordinates
50.76719, -3.29459 (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 0.34 m 2026-10-17 07:00 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Fairmile (ea:45214). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/devon/fairmile

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.