Spring Gardens Dam water level
River gauge, River Gaunless, Durham, United Kingdom
Right now
Lower than ever recorded here
Water level
History
What this means
At 0.11 m, the River Gaunless at Spring Gardens Dam is at a record low.
It has now dropped past the published record low of 0.13 m (July 13, 2006). The usual range here runs from 0.37 m to 1.63 m.
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 0.10 m and 0.11 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
- Normal range
- 0.37 m – 1.63 m
- Highest on record
- 10.77 mSeptember 26, 2012
- Lowest on record
- 0.13 mJuly 13, 2006
- Lowest on record
- 0.03 m below the lowest level on record
On the river at Spring Gardens Dam
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramshaw MillRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.07 m | Very low | ±0 | 1.0 km |
| West AucklandRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.13 m | Normal | ±0 | 1.4 km |
| LowlandsRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.07 m | Normal | ±0 | 3.6 km |
| Dovecote HillRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.46 m | Very low | ±0 | 4.7 km |
| South ChurchRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.04 m | Lowest on record | ±0 | 5.4 km |
| CopleyRiver gauge, River Gaunless | 0.07 m | Very low | ±0 | 8.3 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakley Cross BeckRiver gauge | 0.20 m | Low | ±0 | 1.3 km |
| Witton ParkRiver gauge, River Wear | 0.31 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 4.3 km |
| BedburnRiver gauge, Bedburn Beck | 0.10 m | Very low | ±0 | 7.5 km |
| Crook West Bridge StreetRiver gauge, Crook Beck | 0.01 m | Very low | ±0 | 9.0 km |
Questions and answers
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 0.11 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Spring Gardens Dam today?
On 17 Oct 2026, 19:45 BST, the water level was 0.11 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Spring Gardens Dam rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is the level of Spring Gardens Dam 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 Spring Gardens Dam?
The highest level on record is 10.77 m on September 26, 2012. The lowest is 0.13 m on July 13, 2006.
How often is this data updated?
The Environment Agency publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.
Where does this data come from?
The values come directly from the Environment Agency, the official operator of this gauge, and are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We do not estimate or model live values.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:024024(Agency page)- Coordinates
54.63424, -1.74202(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 | 0.11 m | 2026-10-17 18:45 | 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: Spring Gardens Dam (ea:024024). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/durham/spring-gardens-dam
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