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Higham Avenue water level

River gauge, Sankey Brook, Cheshire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.41m Down 0.05 m over the last 24 hours

0 1 3 4 Highest onrecord 3.82 m Lowest on record 0.14 m

History

History
0.20.40.6mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 18Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.20.40.6mOct 16Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range
-0123mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0123mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-0.00.51.01.5mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-0.00.51.01.5mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

Water levels are unremarkable at Higham Avenue, where the gauge shows 0.41 m.

The median for mid-October is 0.38 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.03 m above typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.04 m, a difference of +0.37 m.

It is still going down, by 0.05 m over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 0.35 m – 0.64 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
0.38 m0.03 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.19 m – 0.69 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.24 m – 2.80 m
Same day last year
0.04 m+0.37 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.35 m – 0.64 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.19 m – 1.44 m
Highest on record
3.82 mJanuary 21, 2021
Lowest on record
0.14 mOctober 2, 2009

For anglers and canoeists

This is an ordinary level for the river: most put-ins, beats and weirs behave as they usually do.

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

About Sankey Brook

Sankey Canal

The Sankey Canal in North West England, initially known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and later the St Helens Canal, is a former industrial canal, which when opened in 1757 was England's first of the Industrial revolution, and the first modern canal.

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

18 Sun 13° 5° – Wind 14 km/h
19 Mon 14° 8° 0.9 mm, 38% Wind 15 km/h
20 Tue 12° 8° 8.1 mm, 71% Wind 8 km/h
21 Wed 11° 7° 3.0 mm, 69% Wind 26 km/h
22 Thu 12° 6° 4.2 mm, 49% Wind 13 km/h
23 Fri 9° 6° – Wind 23 km/h
24 Sat 11° 6° 2.3 mm, 89% Wind 28 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:43 AM Sunset 06:10 PM Daylight 10 hr, 27 min First quarter 51%

Map

Other gauges on Sankey Brook

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Causey BridgeRiver gauge, Sankey Brook 0.29 m Normal −0.02 m 2.2 km
Liverpool RoadRiver gauge, Sankey Brook 1.48 m Normal −0.05 m 2.8 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
WestyRiver gauge, River Mersey 3.66 m Low −0.06 m 3.7 km
Fiddlers FerryRiver gauge, River Mersey 2.51 m Very low −0.12 m 4.7 km
Ferry Lane, WarringtonRiver gauge, Manchester ship canal 0.47 m Normal +0.15 m 5.9 km
Ellamsbridge Road, St HelensRiver gauge, Sutton Mill Brook 0.07 m Very low −0.03 m 7.2 km
Ivy Street, Ashton-In-MakerfieldRiver gauge, Millingford Brook 0.22 m Low −0.01 m 9.2 km
Little Woolden HallRiver gauge, Glaze Brook 0.54 m Low −0.04 m 9.6 km
Sportsman Street, LeighRiver gauge, Westleigh Brook 0.16 m Normal −0.01 m 11 km
Lilford Park, LeighRiver gauge, Atherton Lake Brook 0.16 m Low −0.02 m 13 km

Questions and answers

Is Sankey Brook at Higham Avenue higher than last year?

Yes, it is 0.37 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.04 m.

What is a normal level for Sankey Brook at Higham Avenue in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.38 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.19 m and 0.69 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 0.41 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Higham Avenue today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 17:45 BST, the water level was 0.41 m. Down 0.05 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Higham Avenue rising or falling?

Down 0.05 m over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Higham Avenue normal?

Normal for mid-October. Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Higham Avenue?

The highest level on record is 3.82 m on January 21, 2021. The lowest is 0.14 m on October 2, 2009.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:694042 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.40718, -2.60893 (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 0.41 m 2026-10-18 16:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Higham Avenue (ea:694042). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/cheshire/higham-avenue

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.