South Church water level
River gauge, River Gaunless, Durham, United Kingdom
Right now
Lower than ever recorded here
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
At 0.05 m, the River Gaunless at South Church is at a record low.
It has now dropped past the published record low of 0.05 m (July 28, 2004). The median for mid-October is 0.13 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.08 m below typical. A year ago it stood at 0.04 m as well.
It has barely moved 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 the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge. How to read levels
Key numbers
- Median for this date
- 0.13 m0.08 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.07 m – 0.25 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.08 m – 1.31 m
- Same day last year
- 0.04 m0.00 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.04 m – 0.08 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.04 m – 0.89 m
- Highest on record
- 2.47 mJune 4, 2000
- Lowest on record
- 0.05 mJuly 28, 2004
- Lowest on record
- 0.01 m below the lowest level on record
On the river at South Church
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.
About the River Gaunless
The Gaunless is a tributary river of the Wear in County Durham, England. Its name is Old Norse, meaning "useless". The Gaunless Viaduct, built in 1825, was the tallest viaduct on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
No rain in the last 3 days.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on the River Gaunless
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dovecote HillRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.46 m | Very low | ±0 | 0.8 km |
| West AucklandRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.14 m | Normal | ±0 | 4.1 km |
| Spring Gardens DamRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.10 m | Lowest on record | ±0 | 5.4 km |
| Ramshaw MillRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.07 m | Very low | ±0 | 6.4 km |
| LowlandsRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.08 m | Normal | ±0 | 9.0 km |
| CopleyRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.07 m | Very low | ±0 | 14 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakley Cross BeckRiver gauge | 0.20 m | Low | ±0 | 4.7 km |
| Witton ParkRiver gauge, River Wear | 0.31 m | Very low | ±0 | 5.3 km |
| Crook West Bridge StreetRiver gauge, Crook Beck | 0.01 m | Lowest on record | ±0 | 8.9 km |
| Sunderland BridgeRiver gauge, River Wear | 0.26 m | Very low | ±0 | 11 km |
| BedburnRiver gauge, Bedburn Beck | 0.10 m | Very low | ±0 | 11 km |
Questions and answers
Is the River Gaunless at South Church higher than last year?
It is about the same as on this day last year, when the reading was 0.04 m.
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 South Church today?
On 18 Oct 2026, 20:00 BST, the water level was 0.05 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is South Church rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.
Is the level of South Church normal?
Lower than ever recorded here. Compared with the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge.
What is the highest water level ever recorded at South Church?
The highest level on record is 2.47 m on June 4, 2000. The lowest is 0.05 m on July 28, 2004.
How often is this data updated?
The Environment Agency publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:024000(Agency page)- Coordinates
54.64932, -1.66212(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 19:00 | Provisional |
Download
Embed this gauge
Add a live card for this gauge to your website. It updates on its own and links back here.
How to cite
Environment Agency: South Church (ea:024000). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/durham/south-church
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