Houghton water level

Name: Houghton water level (Environment Agency)
Creator: Environment Agency
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

River gauge, River Great Ouse, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Within the normal range

Water level

0.28m Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours

Measured 19 Oct 2026, 02:00 BST (47 min ago)

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

The gauge at Houghton reads 0.28 m, a normal level.

The usual range here runs from 0.26 m to 0.45 m.

The level is falling, down 0.02 m over the past 24 hours. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.23 m and 0.31 m.

Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.

Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Normal range: 0.26 m – 0.45 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 0.23 m – 0.31 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 0.26 m – 0.29 m
Highest on record: 0.96 mDecember 24, 2020
Lowest on record: 0.01 mJuly 1, 1999

On the river at Houghton

A level in the typical range is usually good news for both anglers and canoeists, but conditions can change quickly after rain in the hills.

Flood warnings for the area come from the Environment Agency.

About the River Great Ouse

The River Great Ouse is a river in England, the fifth longest in the United Kingdom, and longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". It flows mostly north and east, from Syresham in Northamptonshire, through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, before draining into the Wash and the North Sea near Kings Lynn. Authorities disagree both on the river's source and its length, with one quoting 160 mi (260 km) and another 143 mi (230 km). The Great Ouse has been historically important for commercial navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows; its best-known tributary is the Cam, which runs through Cambridge. Its lower course passes through drained wetlands and fens and has been extensively modified, or channelised, to relieve flooding, stabilise its path, and provide a better route for barge traffic.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 2.4 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 14° 7° 2.7 mm, 91% Wind 23 km/h

19 Mon 14° 10° 4.7 mm, 96% Wind 12 km/h

20 Tue 13° 11° 10 mm, 53% Wind 14 km/h

21 Wed 14° 7° 3.4 mm, 51% Wind 19 km/h

22 Thu 13° 5° 0.6 mm, 33% Wind 18 km/h

23 Fri 10° 7° 28 mm, 67% Wind 33 km/h

24 Sat 11° 4° – Wind 29 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:33 AM Sunset 05:59 PM Daylight 10 hr, 27 min First quarter 54%

Map

Other gauges on the River Great Ouse

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
HemingfordRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.17 m	Normal	+0.01 m	1.5 km
St IvesRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.13 m	Low	−0.01 m	3.6 km
GodmanchesterRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.39 m	Normal	−0.04 m	4.0 km
Brampton SluiceRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.13 m	Normal	−0.02 m	5.9 km
BrownshillRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.33 m	Normal	±0	8.8 km
OffordRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.44 m	Normal	−0.03 m	9.3 km
EarithRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.76 m	Normal	−0.05 m	11 km
St NeotsRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.87 m	Normal	+0.03 m	14 km
Sutton GaultRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.73 m	Normal	−0.01 m	16 km
Eaton SoconRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.05 m	Normal	+0.01 m	17 km
RoxtonRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	0.30 m	Low	+0.02 m	22 km
Soham LodeRiver gauge, River Great Ouse	1.58 m	Normal	+0.03 m	26 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Brampton RacecourseRiver gauge, Alconbury Brook	0.06 m	Low	±0	7.3 km
BramptonRiver gauge, Brampton Brook	9.16 m	Normal	+0.01 m	7.6 km
Webbs Hole SluiceRiver gauge, Swavesey Drain	0.49 m	Normal	±0	8.1 km

Questions and answers

What is the typical range for the River Great Ouse at Houghton?

The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 0.26 m to 0.45 m for this gauge.

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 0.28 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Houghton today?

On 19 Oct 2026, 02:00 BST, the water level was 0.28 m. Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Houghton rising or falling?

Down 0.02 m over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Houghton normal?

Within the normal range. Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Houghton?

The highest level on record is 0.96 m on December 24, 2020. The lowest is 0.01 m on July 1, 1999.

How often is this data updated?

The Environment Agency publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: Environment Agency
Station code: ea:E21163 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 52.33067, -0.12080 (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	0.28 m	2026-10-19 01:00	Provisional

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<iframe src="https://nivelmap.com/embed/2094?lang=en" width="360" height="230" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="Houghton water level"></iframe>

How to cite

Environment Agency: Houghton (ea:E21163). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/cambridgeshire/houghton

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