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Chesham water level

River gauge, River Chess, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Within the normal range

Water level

0.31m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.3 0.5 0.8 Highest onrecord 0.88 m Lowest on record 0.30 m

History

0.280.300.33mOct 11Oct 12Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.280.300.33mOct 11Oct 14Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.250.300.35mSep 18Sep 25Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.250.300.35mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
Water level Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

The River Chess at Chesham is at 0.31 m, within its typical range.

The usual range here runs from 0.26 m to 0.70 m.

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.31 m and 0.35 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
0.26 m – 0.70 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.31 m – 0.35 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.31 m – 0.35 m
Highest on record
0.88 mSeptember 20, 2014
Lowest on record
0.30 mDecember 1, 2006

Fishing and paddling

Paddlers and anglers can expect the river much as they know it, though a heavy shower upstream can change that within hours.

Flood alerts and warnings come from the Environment Agency.

About the River Chess

River Chess

The River Chess is a chalk stream that rises near Chesham in the Chiltern Hills in England, and flows for 11 miles (18 km) through Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire to its confluence with the River Colne in Rickmansworth. The Chess, along with the Colne and Gade, gives rise to the name of the district of Three Rivers.

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

18 Sun 13° 7° 3.4 mm, 80% Wind 21 km/h
19 Mon 14° 9° 1.8 mm, 92% Wind 14 km/h
20 Tue 12° 10° 11 mm, 69% Wind 10 km/h
21 Wed 14° 6° 4.2 mm, 51% Wind 27 km/h
22 Thu 13° 5° 1.0 mm, 51% Wind 17 km/h
23 Fri 10° 6° 36 mm, 76% Wind 35 km/h
24 Sat 10° 3° – Wind 24 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:32 AM Sunset 06:05 PM Daylight 10 hr, 33 min First quarter 46%

Map

Other gauges on the River Chess

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
RickmansworthRiver gauge, River Chess 0.08 m Normal ±0 13 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
MissendenRiver gauge, River Misbourne 0.10 m Normal ±0 3.8 km
Hemel Hempstead, Old Fishery LaneRiver gauge, River Bulbourne 0.65 m Low +0.04 m 9.3 km
Hemel Hempstead, Two Waters RoadRiver gauge, River Bulbourne 0.25 m Low +0.05 m 11 km
Gadebridge ParkRiver gauge, River Gade 0.09 m Lowest on record ±0 11 km
Wycombe HughRiver gauge, Hughenden Stream 0.05 m Normal ±0 12 km
Weston TurvilleRiver gauge, Wendover Springs 0.30 m Low ±0 13 km
Croxley GreenRiver gauge, River Gade 0.08 m Low −0.01 m 14 km
Moor LaneRiver gauge, River Colne 7.46 m Normal +0.01 m 14 km

Questions and answers

What is the typical range for the River Chess at Chesham?

The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 0.26 m to 0.70 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 0.31 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Chesham today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 05:30 BST, the water level was 0.31 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Chesham rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Chesham normal?

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

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Chesham?

The highest level on record is 0.88 m on September 20, 2014. The lowest is 0.30 m on December 1, 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.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:2852TH (Agency page)
Coordinates
51.70262, -0.61404 (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 0.31 m 2026-10-18 04:30 Provisional

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Embed this gauge

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Chesham (ea:2852TH). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/buckinghamshire/chesham

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