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Cirencester water level

River gauge, River Churn, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Very low for mid-October

Water level

0.09m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.0 0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.05 m Lowest on record -0.03 m

History

History
0.10.20.3mOct 11Oct 13Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.10.20.3mOct 11Oct 14Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.10.20.3mSep 18Sep 25Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.10.20.3mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.20.40.6mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.40.6mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.40.6mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.20.40.6mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

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

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.

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

18 Sun 12° 6° 0.9 mm, 32% Wind 22 km/h
19 Mon 14° 7° 6.6 mm, 94% Wind 22 km/h
20 Tue 12° 6° 7.5 mm, 75% Wind 9 km/h
21 Wed 12° 5° 4.2 mm, 63% Wind 28 km/h
22 Thu 13° 5° 1.4 mm, 67% Wind 17 km/h
23 Fri 9° 5° 23 mm, 80% Wind 34 km/h
24 Sat 9° 3° 0.5 mm, 56% Wind 29 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:37 AM Sunset 06:10 PM Daylight 10 hr, 33 min First quarter 48%

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

ParameterLast valueTime (UTC)Quality
Water level 0.09 m 2026-10-18 08:45 Provisional

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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.