Newnham Bridge water level
River gauge, River Taw, Devon, United Kingdom
Right now
Very low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
The River Taw at Newnham Bridge is running far below normal at 0.20 m.
The median for mid-October is 0.36 m, based on 20 years of readings, so the river level is 0.16 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.28 m, a difference of −0.08 m. The lowest reading on record is 0.15 m (October 22, 2003).
It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.18 m and 0.24 m.
Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.
Compared with 20 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels
Key numbers
- Median for this date
- 0.36 m0.16 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.26 m – 0.74 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (20 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.21 m – 2.50 m
- Same day last year
- 0.28 m−0.08 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.18 m – 0.24 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.16 m – 2.08 m
- Highest on record
- 4.00 mOctober 30, 2000
- Lowest on record
- 0.15 mOctober 22, 2003
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 Taw
The River Taw in England rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Barnstaple Bay in the Bristol Channel, having formed a large estuary of wide meanders which at its western end is the estuary of the River Torridge.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 3.7 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on the River Taw
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UmberleighRiver gauge, River Taw | 0.29 m | Low | −0.06 m | 8.2 km |
| Taw BridgeRiver gauge, River Taw | 0.12 m | Very low | +0.01 m | 11 km |
| BarnstapleTidal gauge, River Taw | 1.52 m | No reference yet | +0.04 m | 19 km |
| SticklepathRiver gauge, River Taw | 0.18 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 22 km |
| Sticklepath GSRiver gauge, River Taw | 0.08 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 24 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WoodleighRiver gauge, River Mole | 0.42 m | Low | −0.05 m | 3.7 km |
| ChulmleighRiver gauge, Little Dart River | 0.37 m | Very low | ±0 | 4.7 km |
| Mole MillsRiver gauge, River Mole | 0.06 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 10 km |
| LapfordRiver gauge, River Yeo | 0.36 m | Very low | ±0 | 11 km |
| DoltonRiver gauge, River Torridge | 0.25 m | Normal | +0.07 m | 13 km |
| SwimbridgeRiver gauge, Landkey Brook | 0.05 m | Normal | −0.02 m | 13 km |
| Landkey Newland Tanners RoadRiver gauge, Halford Stream | 0.16 m | Lowest on record | −0.03 m | 15 km |
| North MoltonRiver gauge, River Mole | 0.24 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 15 km |
Questions and answers
Is the River Taw at Newnham Bridge higher than last year?
No, it is 0.08 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.28 m.
What is a normal level for the River Taw at Newnham Bridge in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.36 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.26 m and 0.74 m, based on 20 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 0.20 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Newnham Bridge today?
On 17 Oct 2026, 12:45 BST, the water level was 0.20 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Newnham Bridge rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Newnham Bridge normal?
Very low for mid-October. Compared with 20 years of daily readings for this time of year.
What is the highest water level ever recorded at Newnham Bridge?
The highest level on record is 4.00 m on October 30, 2000. The lowest is 0.15 m on October 22, 2003.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:50132(Agency page)- Coordinates
50.93990, -3.90758(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 | 0.20 m | 2026-10-17 11:45 | Provisional |
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Newnham Bridge (ea:50132). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/devon/newnham-bridge
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