Dronfield water level
River gauge, River Drone, Derbyshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Very low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
The River Drone at Dronfield is running far below normal at −0.02 m.
The median for mid-October is 0.02 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.04 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was −0.01 m, a difference of −0.02 m. The lowest reading on record is −0.11 m (August 21, 1995).
It has dropped 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between −0.11 m and 0.07 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
- 0.02 m0.04 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- −0.02 m – 0.07 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.00 m – 0.70 m
- Same day last year
- −0.01 m−0.02 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- −0.11 m – 0.07 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- −0.11 m – 0.20 m
- Highest on record
- 1.08 mOctober 27, 1998
- Lowest on record
- −0.11 mAugust 21, 1995
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 Drone
The River Drone is a river which flows south from its source on the Sheffield, South Yorkshire, border. It flows through Dronfield, Unstone and Unstone Green in Derbyshire before merging at Sheepbridge to the north of Chesterfield with the Barlow Brook. Below the junction, it is often referred to as the River Whitting. It then flows south-east till it merges with the River Rother at Brimington Road North (B6050) at Chesterfield. It is one of the three main tributaries of the Rother.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 6.4 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on the River Drone
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dronfield DamRiver gauge, River Drone | 0.05 m | Very low | −0.02 m | 0.9 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dore Twenty Well LaneRiver gauge, River Sheaf | 0.35 m | High | −0.01 m | 3.9 km |
| SheepbridgeRiver gauge, River Whitting | 0.06 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 4.4 km |
| Sheffield Centenary WorksRiver gauge, River Sheaf | −0.04 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 5.5 km |
| WhittingtonRiver gauge, River Rother | 0.23 m | Low | −0.08 m | 5.8 km |
| Sheffield MeersbrookRiver gauge, Meers Brook | 0.52 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 5.9 km |
| Chesterfield AshgateRiver gauge, Holme Brook | 0.02 m | Normal | ±0 | 6.8 km |
| Chesterfield Tapton BridgeRiver gauge, River Rother | 0.07 m | Low | −0.05 m | 7.8 km |
| HighfieldRiver gauge, River Sheaf | 0.15 m | Low | −0.04 m | 7.9 km |
Questions and answers
Is the River Drone at Dronfield higher than last year?
No, it is 0.02 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was −0.01 m.
What is a normal level for the River Drone at Dronfield in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.02 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between −0.02 m and 0.07 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 −0.02 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Dronfield today?
On 17 Oct 2026, 08:45 BST, the water level was −0.02 m. Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.
Is Dronfield rising or falling?
Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.02 m over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Dronfield 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 Dronfield?
The highest level on record is 1.08 m on October 27, 1998. The lowest is −0.11 m on August 21, 1995.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:L0215(Agency page)- Coordinates
53.30272, -1.47251(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 | −0.02 m | 2026-10-17 07:45 | Provisional |
Download
Embed this gauge
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Dronfield (ea:L0215). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/derbyshire/dronfield
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