Wakefield water level
River gauge, River Calder, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Very low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
The River Calder at Wakefield is running far below normal at 0.02 m.
The median for mid-October is 0.06 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.04 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.01 m, a difference of +0.01 m. The lowest reading on record is 0.01 m (July 21, 1996).
It has dropped 0.04 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.01 m and 0.06 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
- 0.06 m0.04 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.03 m – 0.16 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.04 m – 0.85 m
- Same day last year
- 0.01 m+0.01 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.01 m – 0.06 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.01 m – 0.44 m
- Highest on record
- 1.65 mFebruary 9, 2020
- Lowest on record
- 0.01 mJuly 21, 1996
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 Calder
The River Calder is a river in West Yorkshire, in Northern England.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 3.9 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 Calder
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BirkwoodRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.71 m | Normal | −0.14 m | 4.1 km |
| HorburyRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.42 m | Normal | −0.08 m | 5.3 km |
| MethleyRiver gauge, River Calder | 1.21 m | Normal | −0.09 m | 9.0 km |
| DewsburyRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.55 m | Normal | −0.11 m | 9.5 km |
| Ledgard BridgeRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.13 m | Normal | −0.07 m | 14 km |
| Heaton LodgeRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.23 m | Low | −0.03 m | 16 km |
| BrighouseRiver gauge, River Calder | −1.19 m | Lowest on record | −0.11 m | 20 km |
| EllandRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.46 m | Normal | −0.04 m | 21 km |
| Copley BridgeRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.37 m | Normal | −0.05 m | 25 km |
| Sowerby BridgeRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.06 m | Normal | +0.03 m | 28 km |
| BrearleyRiver gauge, River Calder | 0.22 m | Normal | −0.09 m | 31 km |
| MytholmroydRiver gauge, River Calder | 1.46 m | Normal | −0.04 m | 33 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield ColinswayRiver gauge, Ings Beck | 0.23 m | Very low | −0.02 m | 0.9 km |
| Wakefield WestgateRiver gauge, Ings Beck | 0.35 m | Very low | −0.04 m | 1.2 km |
| Wakefield Brooks BankRiver gauge, Balne Beck | −0.04 m | Very low | ±0 | 1.3 km |
| Wakefield OakenshawRiver gauge, Oakenshaw Beck | 0.03 m | Normal | ±0 | 1.6 km |
| Wakefield Henry Street BridgeRiver gauge, Alverthorpe Beck | −0.06 m | Lowest on record | −0.02 m | 1.8 km |
| WrenthorpeRiver gauge, Balne Beck | 0.40 m | Low | −0.02 m | 2.4 km |
| Wakefield Grasmere RoadRiver gauge, Alverthorpe Beck | −0.02 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 2.7 km |
| LofthouseRiver gauge, Oulton Beck | 0.47 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 5.8 km |
Questions and answers
Is the River Calder at Wakefield higher than last year?
Yes, it is 0.01 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.01 m.
What is a normal level for the River Calder at Wakefield in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.06 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.03 m and 0.16 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 0.02 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Wakefield today?
On 17 Oct 2026, 18:30 BST, the water level was 0.02 m. Down 0.04 m over the last 24 hours.
Is Wakefield rising or falling?
Down 0.04 m over the last 24 hours.
Is the level of Wakefield 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 Wakefield?
The highest level on record is 1.65 m on February 9, 2020. The lowest is 0.01 m on July 21, 1996.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:L1304(Agency page)- Coordinates
53.67717, -1.49131(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 | 0.02 m | 2026-10-17 17:30 | Provisional |
Download
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Wakefield (ea:L1304). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/west-yorkshire/wakefield
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