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Willen water level

River gauge, River Ouzel, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.26m Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours

0.5 1.0 1.5 Highest onrecord 1.69 m Lowest on record 0.21 m

History

History
0.40.6mOct 16Oct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 17Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.40.6mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.40.60.8mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.40.60.8mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.40.60.8mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.20.40.60.8mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %) Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

Low water at Willen: the gauge reads 0.26 m, below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.05 m below the median of 0.31 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.25 m (+0.01 m).

It is still going down, by 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 0.26 m – 0.28 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
0.31 m0.05 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.25 m – 0.53 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.27 m – 0.72 m
Same day last year
0.25 m+0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.26 m – 0.28 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.23 m – 0.42 m
Highest on record
1.69 mJanuary 3, 2003
Lowest on record
0.21 mOctober 5, 2011

For anglers and canoeists

Low rivers are hard going for paddlers, with exposed gravel and weirs that are awkward to shoot. Salmon and sea trout usually wait for the next spate to run.

Many angling and canoe clubs check gauges like this one before heading out.

About the River Ouzel

River Ouzel

The River Ouzel, also known as the River Lovat, is a river in England, and a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises in the Chiltern Hills and flows 20 miles (32 km) north to join the Ouse at Newport Pagnell.

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

17 Sat 12° 6° – Wind 21 km/h
18 Sun 11° 7° 5.0 mm, 40% Wind 21 km/h
19 Mon 13° 8° 3.5 mm, 52% Wind 20 km/h
20 Tue 14° 9° 5.1 mm, 39% Wind 14 km/h
21 Wed 12° 8° 2.6 mm, 45% Wind 41 km/h
22 Thu 12° 6° 2.2 mm, 31% Wind 35 km/h
23 Fri 13° 7° 4.8 mm, 62% Wind 29 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:31 AM Sunset 06:07 PM Daylight 10 hr, 35 min First quarter 42%

Map

Other gauges on the River Ouzel

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
BletchleyRiver gauge, River Ouzel 0.23 m Low ±0 8.6 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
BroughtonRiver gauge, Broughton Brook 0.12 m Normal −0.03 m 0.7 km
Newport Pagnell CemeteryRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.04 m Very low −0.06 m 3.2 km
Newport PagnellRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.15 m Low −0.03 m 3.5 km
HavershamRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.20 m Normal ±0 6.4 km
PassenhamRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 2.18 m Normal −0.01 m 9.5 km
Stony StratfordRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.13 m Low ±0 9.6 km
OlneyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.08 m Normal ±0 9.9 km
TurveyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.29 m Normal −0.01 m 13 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Ouzel at Willen compare with last year?

It is 0.01 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.25 m.

What is a normal level for the River Ouzel at Willen in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.31 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.25 m and 0.53 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 0.26 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Willen today?

On 17 Oct 2026, 19:45 BST, the water level was 0.26 m. Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Willen rising or falling?

Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Willen normal?

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 Willen?

The highest level on record is 1.69 m on January 3, 2003. The lowest is 0.21 m on October 5, 2011.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:E21511 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.05869, -0.71475 (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 0.26 m 2026-10-17 18:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Willen (ea:E21511). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/buckinghamshire/willen

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.