Birstwith water level
River gauge, River Nidd, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
The River Nidd at Birstwith is running below normal at 0.14 m.
The median for mid-October is 0.26 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.12 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.18 m, a difference of −0.04 m.
It has dropped 0.01 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.09 m and 0.31 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
- 0.26 m0.12 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.12 m – 0.61 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.11 m – 2.10 m
- Same day last year
- 0.18 m−0.04 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.09 m – 0.31 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.07 m – 1.20 m
- Highest on record
- 3.66 mOctober 31, 2000
- Lowest on record
- 0.05 mJuly 23, 2013
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 Nidd
The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. It rises in Nidderdale at Nidd Head Spring on the slopes of Great Whernside. In its first few miles it has been dammed three times, creating Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of around 150,000 visitors a year. It joins the River Ouse at Nun Monkton.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 2.1 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 Nidd
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pateley BridgeRiver gauge, River Nidd | 0.14 m | Low | ±0 | 8.9 km |
| GouthwaiteRiver gauge, River Nidd | 0.07 m | Low | +0.01 m | 12 km |
| HunsingoreRiver gauge, River Nidd | 0.10 m | Low | −0.01 m | 21 km |
| Skip BridgeRiver gauge, River Nidd | 0.52 m | Normal | −0.15 m | 25 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burn BridgeRiver gauge, River Crimple | 0.04 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 10.0 km |
| Bishop MonktonRiver gauge, Bishop Monkton Beck | 0.16 m | Normal | ±0 | 12 km |
| Gouthwaite ReservoirRiver gauge, Reservoir | 8.60 m | Low | −0.03 m | 12 km |
| RiponRiver gauge, River Laver | 0.04 m | Very low | ±0 | 13 km |
| Ripon Birkby NabRiver gauge, River Laver | 0.26 m | Very low | ±0 | 13 km |
| Alma WeirRiver gauge, River Skell | 0.13 m | Normal | ±0 | 14 km |
| Westwick WeirRiver gauge, River Ure | 0.15 m | Normal | ±0 | 14 km |
| Ripon Ure BankRiver gauge, River Ure | 0.15 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 15 km |
Questions and answers
Is the River Nidd at Birstwith higher than last year?
No, it is 0.04 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.18 m.
What is a normal level for the River Nidd at Birstwith in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.26 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.12 m and 0.61 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 0.14 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Birstwith today?
On 18 Oct 2026, 06:30 BST, the water level was 0.14 m. Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours.
Is Birstwith rising or falling?
Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.02 m over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Birstwith 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 Birstwith?
The highest level on record is 3.66 m on October 31, 2000. The lowest is 0.05 m on July 23, 2013.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:F2106(Agency page)- Coordinates
54.03816, -1.65029(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 | 0.14 m | 2026-10-18 05:30 | Provisional |
Download
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Birstwith (ea:F2106). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/north-yorkshire/birstwith
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