Cirencester water level
River gauge, River Churn, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Right now
Very low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
At 0.09 m, the River Churn at Cirencester is far below normal for mid-October.
That puts it 0.06 m below the median of 0.15 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.11 m (−0.01 m). The lowest reading on record is −0.03 m (October 18, 2003).
The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.09 m and 0.13 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
- 0.15 m0.06 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.11 m – 0.38 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.08 m – 0.70 m
- Same day last year
- 0.11 m−0.01 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.09 m – 0.13 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.09 m – 0.69 m
- Highest on record
- 1.05 mJuly 21, 2007
- Lowest on record
- −0.03 mOctober 18, 2003
On the river at Cirencester
Low, clear water makes fish wary, and anglers often do better early and late in the day. For canoeists, shallow riffles mean scraped hulls and the odd portage.
Flood warnings for the area come from the Environment Agency.
About the River Churn
The River Churn is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises at Seven Springs in Gloucestershire and flows south for approximately 37.3 km (23.2 mi) to meet the Thames at Cricklade in Wiltshire. Its length from its source to the confluence with the Thames is greater than that of the Thames from Thames Head, but the Churn is regarded as a tributary, rather than the main river.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 1.7 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 Churn
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South CerneyRiver gauge, River Churn | 0.27 m | Lowest on record | −0.01 m | 6.2 km |
| Cerney WickRiver gauge, River Churn | −0.09 m | Very low | ±0 | 8.6 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EwenRiver gauge, River Thames | −0.02 m | Normal | ±0 | 5.7 km |
| Ampney St PeterRiver gauge, Ampney Brook | 0.07 m | Very low | ±0 | 5.9 km |
| Somerford KeynesRiver gauge, River Thames | 0.44 m | Low | ±0 | 8.2 km |
| Fosse BridgeRiver gauge, River Coln | 0.03 m | Low | ±0 | 10 km |
| OakseyRiver gauge, Swill Brook | −0.30 m | Lowest on record | ±0 | 11 km |
| BiburyRiver gauge, River Coln | 0.05 m | Very low | ±0 | 11 km |
| ChalfordRiver gauge, River Frome (Severn) | 0.04 m | Low | ±0 | 11 km |
| CrickladeRiver gauge, River Thames | 0.05 m | Very low | ±0 | 11 km |
Questions and answers
How does the River Churn at Cirencester compare with last year?
It is 0.01 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.11 m.
What is a normal level for the River Churn at Cirencester in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.15 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.11 m and 0.38 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 0.09 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Cirencester today?
On 18 Oct 2026, 09:45 BST, the water level was 0.09 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.
Is Cirencester rising or falling?
Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Cirencester normal?
Very 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 Cirencester?
The highest level on record is 1.05 m on July 21, 2007. The lowest is −0.03 m on October 18, 2003.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:0260TH(Agency page)- Coordinates
51.72445, -1.97229(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 | 0.09 m | 2026-10-18 08:45 | Provisional |
Download
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Cirencester (ea:0260TH). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/gloucestershire/cirencester
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