Polson Bridge water level
River gauge, River Tamar, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Right now
Low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
What this means
The River Tamar at Polson Bridge is running below normal at 0.34 m.
That puts it 0.11 m below the median of 0.46 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.32 m (+0.02 m).
It has dropped 0.08 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.22 m and 0.43 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
- 0.46 m0.11 m below the median for this date
- Normal for this date
- 0.32 m – 1.11 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
- Normal range
- 0.23 m – 3.00 m
- Same day last year
- 0.32 m+0.02 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.22 m – 0.43 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.17 m – 2.50 m
- Highest on record
- 5.35 mDecember 19, 1999
- Lowest on record
- 0.14 mAugust 8, 1989
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 Tamar
The Tamar is a river in south-west England that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape and some is included in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape due to its historic mining activities.
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 2.5 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 Tamar
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greystone BridgeRiver gauge, River Tamar | 0.16 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 4.8 km |
| GunnislakeRiver gauge, River Tamar | 0.40 m | Low | +0.04 m | 14 km |
| Crowford BridgeRiver gauge, River Tamar | 0.27 m | Normal | −0.09 m | 16 km |
| Bridge RuleRiver gauge, River Tamar | 0.43 m | Normal | −0.18 m | 20 km |
| Tamarstone BridgeRiver gauge, River Tamar | 0.37 m | Normal | −0.09 m | 22 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LauncestonRiver gauge, River Kensey | 0.12 m | Very low | −0.01 m | 2.3 km |
| WerringtonRiver gauge, River Ottery | 0.12 m | Very low | −0.02 m | 2.3 km |
| Lifton ParkRiver gauge, River Lyd | 0.50 m | Normal | −0.03 m | 3.6 km |
| TinhayRiver gauge, River Thrushel | 0.31 m | Normal | −0.01 m | 4.5 km |
| TruscottRiver gauge, River Kensey | 0.43 m | Low | −0.01 m | 5.4 km |
| Hayne BridgeRiver gauge, River Thrushel | 0.13 m | Normal | −0.03 m | 6.6 km |
| BealsmillRiver gauge, River Inny | 0.39 m | Low | −0.02 m | 7.8 km |
| GermansweekRiver gauge, River Wolf | 0.08 m | Very low | −0.02 m | 13 km |
Questions and answers
How does the River Tamar at Polson Bridge compare with last year?
It is 0.02 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.32 m.
What is a normal level for the River Tamar at Polson Bridge in mid-October?
The median for mid-October is 0.46 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.32 m and 1.11 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 0.34 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Polson Bridge today?
On 17 Oct 2026, 19:15 BST, the water level was 0.34 m. Down 0.08 m over the last 24 hours.
Is Polson Bridge rising or falling?
Down 0.08 m over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Polson Bridge 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 Polson Bridge?
The highest level on record is 5.35 m on December 19, 1999. The lowest is 0.14 m on August 8, 1989.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:47115(Agency page)- Coordinates
50.64027, -4.33076(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 | 0.34 m | 2026-10-17 18:15 | Provisional |
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How to cite
Environment Agency: Polson Bridge (ea:47115). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/cornwall/polson-bridge
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