Maidenbower water level
River gauge, Gatwick Stream, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Right now
Very low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
At 0.68 m, the Gatwick Stream at Maidenbower is far below normal for mid-October.
The median for mid-October is 0.74 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.06 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.78 m, a difference of −0.10 m. The lowest reading on record is 0.53 m (March 10, 2004).
The level is falling, down 0.17 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 0.66 m and 0.87 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
- 0.74 m0.06 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.68 m – 0.92 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.61 m – 2.54 m
- Same day last year
- 0.78 m−0.10 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.66 m – 0.87 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.50 m – 1.67 m
- Highest on record
- 2.99 mJanuary 15, 2008
- Lowest on record
- 0.53 mMarch 10, 2004
On the river at Maidenbower
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 Gatwick Stream
The Gatwick Stream is a tributary of the River Mole in southern England. The Gatwick Stream rises in Worth Forest below Clays lake in West Sussex, flows northwards through Tilgate Forest, alongside Tilgate golf course, through Maidenbower, Three Bridges, and Tinsley Green to meet the River Mole on the border between West Sussex and Surrey.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 11 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 Gatwick Stream
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three BridgesRiver gauge, Gatwick Stream | 0.52 m | Normal | −0.21 m | 1.0 km |
| Gatwick LinkRiver gauge, Gatwick Stream | 0.11 m | Normal | −0.04 m | 5.6 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford BridgeRiver gauge, River Mole | 0.63 m | Low | +0.01 m | 4.7 km |
| IfieldRiver gauge, Ifield Brook | 0.76 m | Low | −0.07 m | 4.8 km |
| Gatwick AirportRiver gauge, River Mole | 0.22 m | Normal | −0.12 m | 5.0 km |
| Peeks Brook LaneRiver gauge, Burstow Stream | 0.99 m | Normal | +0.05 m | 5.8 km |
| HorleyRiver gauge, River Mole | 0.35 m | Normal | +0.01 m | 7.4 km |
| Bonehurst BridgeRiver gauge, Burstow Stream | 1.85 m | Normal | +0.02 m | 8.5 km |
| ArdinglyRiver gauge, River Ouse | 0.07 m | Normal | ±0 | 8.8 km |
| Kinnersley ManorRiver gauge, River Mole | 0.17 m | Normal | +0.03 m | 10 km |
Questions and answers
Is the Gatwick Stream at Maidenbower higher than last year?
No, it is 0.10 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.78 m.
What is a normal level for the Gatwick Stream at Maidenbower in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.74 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.68 m and 0.92 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 0.68 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Maidenbower today?
On 19 Oct 2026, 22:30 BST, the water level was 0.68 m. Down 0.17 m over the last 24 hours.
Is Maidenbower rising or falling?
Down 0.17 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.04 m over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Maidenbower 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 Maidenbower?
The highest level on record is 2.99 m on January 15, 2008. The lowest is 0.53 m on March 10, 2004.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:3223TH(Agency page)- Coordinates
51.11024, -0.15387(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 | 0.68 m | 2026-10-19 21:30 | Provisional |
Download
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Maidenbower (ea:3223TH). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/west-sussex/maidenbower
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