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Writtle water level

River gauge, River Wid, Essex, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.13m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.0 0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.30 m Lowest on record 0.07 m

History

History
0.10.2mOct 11Oct 13Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.10.2mOct 11Oct 14Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.10.2mSep 18Sep 25Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.10.2mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
-0.00.20.40.6mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0.00.20.40.6mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.4mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.20.4mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Wid at Writtle is running below normal at 0.13 m.

That puts it 0.01 m below the median of 0.14 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.12 m (+0.01 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.10 m and 0.17 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
0.14 m0.01 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.12 m – 0.26 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.03 m – 0.60 m
Same day last year
0.12 m+0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.10 m – 0.17 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.11 m – 0.47 m
Highest on record
1.30 mJanuary 29, 1988
Lowest on record
0.07 mJune 19, 1988

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 Wid

River Wid

River Wid is a river in the county of Essex, England, a tributary of the River Can. It runs to the south of Chelmsford, following the A1016, previously the A12 out of Chelmsford at Widford.

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: 1.6 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 14° 8° 5.0 mm, 100% Wind 27 km/h
19 Mon 14° 9° 5.3 mm, 100% Wind 16 km/h
20 Tue 14° 11° 6.8 mm, 49% Wind 15 km/h
21 Wed 14° 7° 3.1 mm, 42% Wind 25 km/h
22 Thu 14° 6° 1.0 mm, 63% Wind 21 km/h
23 Fri 13° 7° 42 mm, 71% Wind 33 km/h
24 Sat 10° 4° – Wind 24 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:28 AM Sunset 06:00 PM Daylight 10 hr, 33 min First quarter 49%

Map

Other gauges on the River Wid

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
WardropersRiver gauge, River Wid 0.41 m Normal −0.12 m 9.7 km
MountnessingRiver gauge, River Wid 0.36 m Normal ±0 11 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Beach's MillRiver gauge, River Can 0.26 m Normal +0.01 m 1.2 km
SpringfieldRiver gauge, River Chelmer 0.12 m Low ±0 2.8 km
Sandon BridgeRiver gauge, Sandon Brook 0.06 m Very low ±0 6.9 km
High OngarRiver gauge, River Roding 0.05 m Normal ±0 13 km
FelstedRiver gauge, River Chelmer 0.15 m Low +0.01 m 13 km
WickfordRiver gauge, River Crouch 0.12 m Normal −0.02 m 14 km
Chipping OngarRiver gauge, Cripsey Brook 0.11 m Normal −0.03 m 14 km
MoretonRiver gauge, Cripsey Brook 0.12 m Normal +0.01 m 15 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Wid at Writtle compare with last year?

It is 0.01 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.12 m.

What is a normal level for the River Wid at Writtle in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.14 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.12 m and 0.26 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 0.13 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Writtle today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 11:45 BST, the water level was 0.13 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Writtle rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Writtle 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 Writtle?

The highest level on record is 1.30 m on January 29, 1988. The lowest is 0.07 m on June 19, 1988.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:E22885 (Agency page)
Coordinates
51.72746, 0.44103 (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 0.13 m 2026-10-18 10:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Writtle (ea:E22885). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/essex/writtle

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.