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Abbey Heath water level

River gauge, River Little Ouse, Norfolk, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Very low for mid-October

Water level

0.09m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.0 0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.22 m Lowest on record 0.05 m

History

History
0.20.4mOct 10Oct 12Oct 14Oct 16Oct 17Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.4mOct 10Oct 14Oct 17Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.4mSep 17Sep 25Oct 2Oct 10Oct 17Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.4mSep 17Oct 2Oct 17Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.40.6mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.40.6mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.40.6mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.20.40.6mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Little Ouse at Abbey Heath is running far below normal at 0.09 m.

That puts it 0.09 m below the median of 0.18 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.08 m (+0.01 m). The lowest reading on record is 0.05 m (November 13, 1989).

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 0.06 m and 0.13 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
0.18 m0.09 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.09 m – 0.29 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.13 m – 0.50 m
Same day last year
0.08 m+0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.06 m – 0.13 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.06 m – 0.49 m
Highest on record
1.22 mDecember 27, 2020
Lowest on record
0.05 mNovember 13, 1989

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 Little Ouse

River Little Ouse

The River Little Ouse, also known as the Brandon River, is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk.

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

17 Sat 13° 7° 0.7 mm, 45% Wind 19 km/h
18 Sun 13° 8° 3.5 mm, 73% Wind 24 km/h
19 Mon 13° 10° 2.0 mm, 58% Wind 15 km/h
20 Tue 15° 12° 6.0 mm, 33% Wind 16 km/h
21 Wed 14° 8° 4.8 mm, 45% Wind 22 km/h
22 Thu 12° 7° 3.6 mm, 27% Wind 37 km/h
23 Fri 12° 7° 2.8 mm, 51% Wind 27 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:26 AM Sunset 06:00 PM Daylight 10 hr, 34 min First quarter 42%

Map

Other gauges on the River Little Ouse

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
KnettishallRiver gauge, River Little Ouse 0.08 m Normal +0.02 m 11 km
Little OuseRiver gauge, River Little Ouse 1.58 m Low −0.02 m 12 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Thetford Coffee Mill SluiceRiver gauge, River Thet 0.51 m Low −0.02 m 1.5 km
MelfordRiver gauge, River Thet 0.09 m Low −0.01 m 3.2 km
BridghamRiver gauge, River Thet 0.07 m Very low −0.01 m 11 km
TempleRiver gauge, River Lark 0.20 m Very low +0.01 m 15 km
Barton Mills SluiceRiver gauge, River Lark 0.09 m Very low ±0 16 km
RedbridgeRiver gauge, River Thet 0.06 m Very low ±0 17 km
Fornham St MartinRiver gauge, River Lark 0.03 m Low −0.01 m 17 km
QuidenhamRiver gauge, River Whittle 0.07 m Normal ±0 18 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Little Ouse at Abbey Heath compare with last year?

It is 0.01 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.08 m.

What is a normal level for the River Little Ouse at Abbey Heath in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.18 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.09 m and 0.29 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 0.09 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Abbey Heath today?

On 17 Oct 2026, 19:45 BST, the water level was 0.09 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Abbey Heath rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Abbey Heath normal?

Very 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 Abbey Heath?

The highest level on record is 1.22 m on December 27, 2020. The lowest is 0.05 m on November 13, 1989.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:E23730 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.42588, 0.72079 (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 0.09 m 2026-10-17 18:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Abbey Heath (ea:E23730). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/norfolk/abbey-heath

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.