No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Updated 2026-10-09 13:00:24 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide
Wantage is a historic market town and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. Historically in Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire since 1974. The town is on Letcombe Brook, 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Abingdon, 14 miles (23 km) north-west of Newbury, and 15 miles (24 km) south-west of Oxford.
Towns and villages near Wantage with a page of their own: the homes in a flood risk area there, the nearest river gauges, and recorded floods.
Place names: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The nearest watercourse on the river map is Letcombe Brook, about 10 m from the middle of Wantage's gauges. It flows into Childrey Brook about 8.9 km downstream.
A gauge downstream shows water that has already passed this point; one upstream sees it first. Distances along the river are from the point on Letcombe Brook nearest the middle of Wantage's gauges. From Ordnance Survey’s river map (OS Open Rivers), which leaves out small streams, ditches and culverts, so a nearer one may exist. This describes where water goes on the map; it says nothing about flooding at any address. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.
Wantage is monitored by 1 Environment Agency river level station on the Letcombe Brook, in Oxfordshire. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.
The Letcombe Brook is monitored by 1 station (Wantage). Each station records water levels continuously, with data synced to FloodRadar every 5 minutes.
There are 7 Environment Agency flood warning areas within 10km of Wantage. When the EA issues a flood warning for any of these areas, it will appear on this page. These include: Letcombe Brook at Letcombe Bassett and Letcombe Regis; Letcombe Brook at Wantage, Grove and East Hanney, up to and including The Venn Mill; River Ock from Watchfield to Abingdon including, Stanford in the Vale, Charney Bassett, Lyford and Garford, and also the Letcombe Brook at Wantage, Grove and East Hanney; River Ock from Longcot down to but excluding the A34 near Abingdon, including Stanford in the Vale, Charney Bassett, Lyford and Garford.
There is 1 storm overflow within 5km of Wantage. None of the 1 with a reporting monitor is currently discharging. Enable "Sewage" on the map above to see their locations.
It has its own page of live status and past discharges:
If flooding is forecast in Wantage, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 for the latest information. Move valuables upstairs, turn off gas and electricity if safe to do so, and avoid walking or driving through flood water. Sign up for flood warnings on any station page above to receive email alerts when water levels rise. For emergency numbers, a preparation checklist and insurance guidance, see our flood help & preparation guide.
Wantage gets about 698 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month November, 77 mm; driest March, 46 mm). That is 40% drier than the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year. See the rain gauges →
A thirty-year average for the area, not a forecast and not a flood risk on its own. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 2.0 km away. Average rainfall: HadUK-Grid v1.3.2, Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Floods whose mapped extent (EA Recorded Flood Outlines) reached within ~5 km of the town centre — most recent first. These are records of mapped extents, not a full list of floods. See them on the map →
Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded.
Current verdict: Normal. No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Wantage has river level monitoring on Letcombe Brook — 1 monitoring station in total.
Use the GOV.UK Check for Flooding service (check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk) or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 (24 hours). You can also set up free FloodRadar email or browser alerts from any station page above.
Follow official advice: move valuables and vehicles to safety, never walk or drive through flood water, turn off gas and electricity if safe, and check on vulnerable neighbours. See our flood preparation guide at floodradar.co.uk/flood-help.
Yes — the Environment Agency's Recorded Flood Outlines dataset shows 7 recorded flood extents around the town centre since 1703, most recently in 2007. That is a count of mapped extents, not of separate floods. Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded. See the flood history link below.
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