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No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Updated 2026-10-10 12:34:06 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide
Welches Dam is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Manea, in the Fenland district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is around 5 miles (8 km) to the north west of Ely. The parish covered an area of 2,355 acres (953 ha). Within the parish boundaries were the hamlet of the same name and the settlement of Purls Bridge. In 1951 the parish had a population of 69. Welches Dam is the site of the visitor centre for the RSPB Ouse Washes reserve.
Towns and villages near Welches Dam 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.
Two mapped watercourses are about the same distance from the middle of Welches Dam's gauges: the River Delph (about 30 m) and Old Bedford River (about 30 m), so this page cannot say which one is nearer to you.
Distances along the river are from the point on each watercourse nearest the middle of Welches Dam'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.
Welches Dam is monitored by 1 Environment Agency river level station on the Counter Drain, in Cambridgeshire. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.
The Counter Drain is monitored by 1 station (Welches Dam). Each station records water levels continuously, with data synced to FloodRadar every 5 minutes.
There are 2 Environment Agency flood warning areas within 10km of Welches Dam. When the EA issues a flood warning for any of these areas, it will appear on this page. These include: Hundred Foot Washes, also known as the Ouse Washes, including the causeways at Earith, Sutton Gault and Welney; Coveney, Witchford, Little Downham, Littleport, Welney, Southery, Hilgay and Denver.
There are 7 storm overflows within 5km of Welches Dam. None of the 7 with a reporting monitor are currently discharging. Enable "Sewage" on the map above to see their locations.
6 of them, nearest first, with their own page of live status and past discharges:
If flooding is forecast in Welches Dam, 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.
Welches Dam gets about 585 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month October, 64 mm; driest March, 34 mm). That is 50% 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), 1.6 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.
Welches Dam has river level monitoring on Counter Drain — 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.
No recorded flood outline is mapped around the Welches Dam town centre means no flood was mapped here, which is not evidence none happened: the Environment Agency mapped only some floods, mapping effort rose sharply after about 2000, and surface-water flooding is largely absent from this record. FloodRadar has separately logged 10 flood warnings or alerts for the Cambridgeshire area since February 2026. See the flood history link below.
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