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Polson Bridge water level

River gauge, River Tamar, Cornwall, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.34m Down 0.08 m over the last 24 hours

0 3 5 Highest onrecord 5.35 m Lowest on record 0.14 m

History

History
0.51.0mOct 10Oct 12Oct 14Oct 16Oct 17Bottom of normal range0.51.0mOct 10Oct 14Oct 17Bottom of normal range
0.51.0mSep 17Sep 25Oct 2Oct 10Oct 17Bottom of normal range0.51.0mSep 17Oct 2Oct 17Bottom of normal range
-0123mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0123mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-012mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-012mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

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

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.

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

17 Sat 14° 6° – Wind 14 km/h
18 Sun 12° 3° – Wind 12 km/h
19 Mon 11° 6° 2.1 mm, 39% Wind 14 km/h
20 Tue 13° 6° 1.8 mm, 35% Wind 10 km/h
21 Wed 11° 8° 4.6 mm, 69% Wind 43 km/h
22 Thu 13° 8° 2.9 mm, 67% Wind 19 km/h
23 Fri 13° 9° 20 mm, 83% Wind 40 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:43 AM Sunset 06:23 PM Daylight 10 hr, 40 min First quarter 42%

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

ParameterLast valueTime (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.