Little Ouse water level

Name: Little Ouse water level (Environment Agency)
Creator: Environment Agency
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

River gauge, River Little Ouse, Norfolk, United Kingdom

Directions

Below the normal range

Water level

1.56m Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours

Measured 18 Oct 2026, 16:15 BST (31 min ago)

History

7 days

Water level Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

The River Little Ouse at Little Ouse is running below normal at 1.56 m.

The usual range here runs from 1.64 m to 2.11 m.

It has dropped 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 1.56 m and 1.64 m.

Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.

Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Normal range: 1.64 m – 2.11 m
Highest on record: 2.60 mApril 14, 1998
Lowest on record: 1.39 mNovember 11, 2000

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

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.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 3.4 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 14° 8° 2.1 mm, 99% Wind 21 km/h

19 Mon 15° 10° 5.1 mm, 100% Wind 12 km/h

20 Tue 13° 11° 9.1 mm, 61% Wind 14 km/h

21 Wed 13° 8° 4.2 mm, 45% Wind 18 km/h

22 Thu 13° 5° 0.8 mm, 56% Wind 17 km/h

23 Fri 10° 7° 32 mm, 63% Wind 27 km/h

24 Sat 10° 3° 0.2 mm, 48% Wind 28 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:29 AM Sunset 05:59 PM Daylight 10 hr, 30 min First quarter 50%

Map

Other gauges on the River Little Ouse

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Abbey HeathRiver gauge, River Little Ouse	0.09 m	Very low	±0	12 km
KnettishallRiver gauge, River Little Ouse	0.04 m	Very low	−0.04 m	23 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Wissey SluiceRiver gauge, River Wissey	1.61 m	Very low	−0.02 m	12 km
Barton Mills SluiceRiver gauge, River Lark	0.10 m	Very low	±0	13 km
Thetford Coffee Mill SluiceRiver gauge, River Thet	0.52 m	Low	−0.03 m	13 km
IslehamRiver gauge, River Lark	2.13 m	Normal	±0	14 km
TempleRiver gauge, River Lark	0.20 m	Very low	±0	14 km
Beck BridgeRiver gauge, River Kennett	−0.11 m	Lowest on record	±0	15 km
MelfordRiver gauge, River Thet	0.09 m	Low	±0	15 km
ElyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.60 m	Normal	±0	18 km

Questions and answers

What is the typical range for the River Little Ouse at Little Ouse?

The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 1.64 m to 2.11 m for this gauge.

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 1.56 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Little Ouse today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 16:15 BST, the water level was 1.56 m. Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Little Ouse rising or falling?

Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Little Ouse normal?

Below the normal range. Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Little Ouse?

The highest level on record is 2.60 m on April 14, 1998. The lowest is 1.39 m on November 11, 2000.

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:E21838 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 52.45308, 0.54525 (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	1.56 m	2026-10-18 15:15	Provisional

Download

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<iframe src="https://nivelmap.com/embed/668?lang=en" width="360" height="230" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="Little Ouse water level"></iframe>

How to cite

Environment Agency: Little Ouse (ea:E21838). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/norfolk/little-ouse

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