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Ely water levels

3 gauges from Lanelay River Station to Ely Bridge River Station. None of the 2 that can be compared with a typical high is above it. 5 storm overflows upstream are discharging now. Gauges in Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taf; levels are checked every 15 minutes.

3gauges
0above normal
5overflows upstream discharging

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Gauges

Monitoring stations, source to mouth

StationTownLevel nowStatusTrend
Lanelay River Station—0.57 m 32m agoWithin its typical range—
St Fagans River Station 19.3 km by river—3.67 m 2d agoold reading
Ely Bridge River Station 2.8 km by river—1.03 m 17m agoWithin its typical range▽

Stations are listed from source to mouth as the water flows, traced on the river map (OS Open Rivers) and the Environment Agency’s own links between its gauges. A distance “by river” is along the river, and is shown only where the map traces the path.

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

Gauged tributaries

Streams and rivers with a gauge whose water joins the Ely above one of its gauges, from the source down. Named streams without a gauge that have a page here are listed at the end.

No gauged tributary joins the Ely above Ely Bridge River Station on the river map. Streams without a gauge are not counted here.

Where the Ely goes

No gauge below Ely Bridge River Station is known on the river map.

Tributaries and where they join are traced on the river map (OS Open Rivers, edition 2026-04) and the Environment Agency’s links between its gauges. The map holds distances between gauges, not the junctions themselves, so a junction is placed between two gauges, and no further up than the tributary’s own lowest gauge. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

Streams without a gauge

Named streams on the river map that flow into the Ely and have no gauge of their own. Each has a page with what is known about it: the next gauge downstream, and any storm overflows or water-sampling points placed on it.

  • Afon Clun (joins about 18 km above St Fagans River Station)
  • Nant Coslech (joins about 11 km above St Fagans River Station)
  • Nant Dowlais (joins about 2.8 km above St Fagans River Station)

Storm overflows upstream

28 storm overflows are traced upstream of Ely Bridge River Station, the Ely’s lowest gauge on the river map: on the Ely itself, on its gauged tributaries, and on smaller streams that join above there.

  • 5 report discharging now
  • 23 not discharging
  • 0 offline or silent: 0 monitor offline, 0 status unknown, 0 no live feed

Official figures for 2025, for the overflows traced upstream of Ely Bridge River Station: 1,179 spills over 8,342 hours in total, across all 28.

Each overflow is listed in the stretch above the first gauge its water reaches, from the source down, as on the Gauges tab. A stretch of the Ely includes the smaller streams that join it there.

Above Lanelay River Station, the Ely’s highest gauge8 overflows · 2 discharging now
  • Ashdale Road Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 10.2 km by river above Lanelay River Station · 2025: 6 spills, 4.8 h
  • Waunrhydd Road Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 7.7 km by river above Lanelay River Station · 2025: 39 spills, 112 h
  • Mill Street Tonyrefail Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 7.5 km by river above Lanelay River Station · 2025: 4 spills, 1.3 h
  • Mill Street West Tonyrefail Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 7.5 km by river above Lanelay River Station · 2025: 51 spills, 142 h
  • Tonyrefail Police Station Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 7.3 km by river above Lanelay River Station · 2025: 1 spill, 0.3 h
  • Tynybryn Road Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 6.9 km by river above Lanelay River Station · 2025: 9 spills, 10 h
  • Ely Valley Road Storm Overflow Discharging now since
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 4.9 km by river above Lanelay River Station · 2025: 113 spills, 1,119 h
  • Dyffryn Isaf WwTW Storm Overflow Discharging now since
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 3.2 km by river above Lanelay River Station · 2025: 61 spills, 903 h
Between Lanelay River Station and St Fagans River Station17 overflows · 3 discharging now
  • Parish Road Beddau Storm Overflow Discharging now since
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into Nant Myddlyn · 26.4 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 129 spills, 816 h
  • Rhiwsaeson WwTW Storm Overflow Discharging now since
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Clun · 22.7 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 179 spills, 1,255 h
  • Brynteg Park Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into Nant Cymdda Bach · 22.5 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 5 spills, 5.5 h
  • Cardiff Road Talbot Green Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Clun · 19.9 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 35 spills, 173 h
  • Lanelay Park Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 19.2 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 83 spills, 312 h
  • Ynysddu Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 18.1 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 1 spill, 0.3 h
  • Dan-Y-Bryn Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 17.2 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 9 spills, 7.5 h
  • Brynsadler Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 17.2 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 10 spills, 23 h
  • Maes-Y-Felin Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 16.5 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 0 spills, 0 h
  • Rhyd-Y-Nant Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 15.7 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 0 spills, 0 h
  • Fairview Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 15.7 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 0 spills, 0 h
  • Miskin Railway Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 15.3 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 19 spills, 92 h
  • Groesfaen Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into Nant Coslech · 13.3 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 71 spills, 644 h
  • Coslech WwTW Storm Overflow Discharging now since
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 10.7 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 118 spills, 1,264 h
  • Rhydlafar WwTW Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into Nant Dowlais · 6.1 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 87 spills, 338 h
  • Whitebridge Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 5.5 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 29 spills, 242 h
  • Peterston-Super-Ely WwTW Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 4.9 km by river above St Fagans River Station · 2025: 17 spills, 62 h
Between St Fagans River Station and Ely Bridge River Station3 overflows
  • St Fagans Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 2.7 km by river above Ely Bridge River Station · 2025: 81 spills, 809 h
  • Plymouth Wood Road Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 1.2 km by river above Ely Bridge River Station · 2025: 8 spills, 2.8 h
  • Mill Road 1 Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 640 m by river above Ely Bridge River Station · 2025: 14 spills, 5.0 h

Near these gauges, connection not known

Within 3 km of one of the Ely’s gauges in a straight line, but the river map cannot say whether their water reaches it.

  • Heol Miles Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Ely · 670 m from Lanelay River Station in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure · 2025: 27 spills, 15 h
  • Heol Amlwch Storm Overflow Not discharging
    Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into River Taff Via Culverted Watercourse · 2.0 km from Ely Bridge River Station in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map · 2025: 9 spills, 17 h

3 other overflows within 3 km of these gauges are placed below the Ely’s lowest gauge or on another river, so not listed.

A status is the water company’s own monitor: it says whether an overflow is discharging, never how much or why, and a spill does not by itself explain a change in a river level. A status older than two hours is shown as unknown. Annual figures are the official returns: 12/24-hour spills for England and Wales, overflow events for Scotland (Scottish Water counts differently, so the two cannot be compared). “No data” means the monitor produced no usable data that year, not zero. Overflows are placed on OS Open Rivers (edition 2026-04), which leaves out many small channels: an overflow the map cannot place may still drain here. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026. Sewage in Britain’s rivers →

Live status: © Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, from its Storm Overflow Map. Annual figures for Wales: Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s return to Natural Resources Wales, as compiled by The Rivers Trust, Open Government Licence.