Shipley water level
River gauge, Bradford Beck, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Very low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
At 0.16 m, Bradford Beck at Shipley is far below normal for mid-October.
The median for mid-October is 0.21 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.05 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.18 m, a difference of −0.02 m. The lowest reading on record is 0.13 m (September 15, 2003).
The level is falling, down 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.15 m and 0.42 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
- 0.21 m0.05 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.17 m – 0.35 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.16 m – 0.40 m
- Same day last year
- 0.18 m−0.02 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.15 m – 0.42 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.14 m – 0.77 m
- Highest on record
- 2.81 mAugust 7, 2014
- Lowest on record
- 0.13 mSeptember 15, 2003
On the river at Shipley
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 Bradford Beck
Bradford Beck is a river that flows through Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and on to the River Aire at Shipley. As it reaches Bradford city centre it runs underground after being built over in the 19th century. It is culverted as it runs from Bradford city centre to Queen's Road after which it runs mostly in an open channel to Shipley. The beck used to be known as the filthiest river in England.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 3.2 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on Bradford Beck
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford GreensideRiver gauge, Bradford Beck | 0.87 m | Lowest on record | −0.02 m | 4.4 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SaltaireRiver gauge, River Aire | 0.39 m | Low | −0.02 m | 1.4 km |
| Cottingley BridgeRiver gauge, River Aire | 0.49 m | Normal | −0.04 m | 3.7 km |
| Apperley BridgeRiver gauge, River Aire | 0.10 m | Low | −0.04 m | 4.3 km |
| BingleyRiver gauge, River Aire | 0.27 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 5.1 km |
| Keighley Dalton LaneRiver gauge, River Worth | 0.03 m | Normal | ±0 | 9.0 km |
| StockbridgeRiver gauge, River Aire | 0.05 m | Normal | −0.05 m | 9.2 km |
| KeighleyRiver gauge, River Worth | 0.25 m | Low | −0.02 m | 9.3 km |
| Oakenshaw Wyke BottomsRiver gauge, Low Moor Beck | 0.03 m | Lowest on record | −0.01 m | 9.7 km |
Questions and answers
Is Bradford Beck at Shipley higher than last year?
No, it is 0.02 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.18 m.
What is a normal level for Bradford Beck at Shipley in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.21 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.17 m and 0.35 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 0.16 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Shipley today?
On 17 Oct 2026, 20:00 BST, the water level was 0.16 m. Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.
Is Shipley rising or falling?
Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.02 m over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Shipley 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 Shipley?
The highest level on record is 2.81 m on August 7, 2014. The lowest is 0.13 m on September 15, 2003.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:F1650(Agency page)- Coordinates
53.83328, -1.77169(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 | 0.16 m | 2026-10-17 19:00 | Provisional |
Download
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Shipley (ea:F1650). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/west-yorkshire/shipley
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