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Springfield water level

River gauge, River Chelmer, Essex, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.12m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 Highest onrecord 1.43 m Lowest on record 0.05 m

History

History
0.10.2mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.10.2mOct 16Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range
-0.00.30.50.8mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0.00.30.50.8mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-0.00.30.50.8mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-0.00.30.50.8mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

The River Chelmer at Springfield is running below normal at 0.12 m.

That puts it 0.02 m below the median of 0.14 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.13 m (−0.01 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly.

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
0.14 m0.02 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.11 m – 0.23 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.06 m – 0.75 m
Same day last year
0.13 m−0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.12 m – 0.12 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.05 m – 0.76 m
Highest on record
1.43 mOctober 22, 2001
Lowest on record
0.05 mApril 13, 1997

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 Chelmer

River Chelmer

The River Chelmer flows entirely through the county of Essex, England; it runs 40 miles (64 km) from the north-west of the county through Chelmsford to the River Blackwater, near Maldon.

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

17 Sat 13° 6° 1.2 mm Wind 21 km/h
18 Sun 14° 8° 4.9 mm, 79% Wind 23 km/h
19 Mon 14° 10° 3.7 mm, 80% Wind 13 km/h
20 Tue 14° 12° 1.0 mm, 41% Wind 18 km/h
21 Wed 13° 10° 8.0 mm, 47% Wind 22 km/h
22 Thu 14° 6° 0.6 mm, 32% Wind 23 km/h
23 Fri 12° 7° 10 mm, 68% Wind 45 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:28 AM Sunset 06:00 PM Daylight 10 hr, 33 min First quarter 47%

Map

Other gauges on the River Chelmer

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
FelstedRiver gauge, River Chelmer 0.14 m Low ±0 13 km
ChurchendRiver gauge, River Chelmer 0.11 m Very low ±0 18 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Beach's MillRiver gauge, River Can 0.26 m Normal +0.01 m 2.3 km
WrittleRiver gauge, River Wid 0.13 m Normal +0.01 m 2.8 km
Sandon BridgeRiver gauge, Sandon Brook 0.06 m Very low ±0 4.5 km
WardropersRiver gauge, River Wid 0.44 m Normal −0.03 m 12 km
Guithavon ValleyRiver gauge, River Brain 0.16 m Low −0.01 m 13 km
MountnessingRiver gauge, River Wid 0.37 m Normal −0.01 m 13 km
WickfordRiver gauge, River Crouch 0.12 m Normal −0.07 m 14 km
High OngarRiver gauge, River Roding 0.05 m Normal ±0 15 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Chelmer at Springfield compare with last year?

It is 0.01 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.13 m.

What is a normal level for the River Chelmer at Springfield in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.14 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.11 m and 0.23 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 0.12 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Springfield today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 06:30 BST, the water level was 0.12 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Springfield rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Springfield normal?

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 Springfield?

The highest level on record is 1.43 m on October 22, 2001. The lowest is 0.05 m on April 13, 1997.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:E22869 (Agency page)
Coordinates
51.73662, 0.47944 (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 0.12 m 2026-10-18 05:30 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Springfield (ea:E22869). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/essex/springfield

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.