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Water Level Falling
1.01

Colwick

Trent
Lower Trent and Erewash catchment • Holme Pierrepont • Nottinghamshire • ID: 4009 • Level
(23m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 234 views

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Current Level
1.014 mASD
▼ Falling
24h Max
1.148 mASD
24h Min
0.919 mASD
Typical Range
1.01 - 3.60
mASD
Highest Recorded
5.50 mASD
8 Nov 2000
Since Dec 1964
Current level is 18% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Rising · +8 cm over 6h
23 Aug 23:30 ▬ steady 1.014 mASD
23 Aug 23:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 1.015 mASD
23 Aug 23:00 ▲ +0.7 cm 1.016 mASD
23 Aug 22:45 ▼ -5 cm 1.009 mASD
23 Aug 21:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 1.060 mASD
23 Aug 21:15 ▬ steady 1.058 mASD
23 Aug 21:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 1.059 mASD
23 Aug 20:45 ▲ +1 cm 1.057 mASD
23 Aug 20:30 ▲ +0.7 cm 1.047 mASD
23 Aug 20:15 ▲ +0.9 cm 1.040 mASD
23 Aug 20:00 ▲ +2 cm 1.031 mASD
23 Aug 19:45 ▲ +2 cm 1.010 mASD
23 Aug 19:30 ▲ +5 cm 0.990 mASD
23 Aug 19:15 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.944 mASD
23 Aug 19:00 ▬ steady 0.941 mASD
23 Aug 18:45 ▲ +0.4 cm 0.941 mASD
23 Aug 18:30 ▲ +2 cm 0.937 mASD
23 Aug 18:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.919 mASD
23 Aug 18:00 ▼ -2 cm 0.920 mASD
23 Aug 17:45 0.935 mASD

Rainfall & Weather

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Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2007 for the 33 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.4 km away).

119flood warnings 397flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 12 Mar 2026Ouse Dyke and River Trent at Netherfield

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 4 31
2025 7 20
2024 24 39
2023 28 37
2022 2 16
2021 8 17
2020 12 20
2019 9 52
2018 0 17
2017 1 7
2016 3 19
2015 1 13
2014 1 14
2013 1 14
2012 15 27
2011 0 1
2010 3 12
2009 0 9
2008 0 13
2007 0 19

Warnings apply to a whole flood area, not necessarily this exact spot. Years before 2006 aren't covered by the EA's historic record. See also the Holme Pierrepont flood history.

Nearby Stations

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Station Details

  • Station Reference: 4009
  • EA Gauge ID: 4009-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 14 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Lower Trent and Erewash
  • Typical Range: 1.014 – 3.600 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 7,486 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Available (m³/s) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 1.02 mASD (EA at 23 Aug 23:15)
  • Flow Archive: National River Flow Archive ↗

Geographic coordinates may reflect the access point for the gauge, and not the precise location in the watercourse that it is taking readings from.

Catchment Character

🌊 Mixed response A balance of quick runoff and slower groundwater baseflow.

Your catchment is all the land that drains rainfall into the river above this gauge. Its character — how steep, wet, wooded, urban or chalky that land is — decides how fast rain here turns into a rising river. A steep, bare or clay catchment is “flashy” (rises and falls quickly, floods easily); a flat, chalk or well-wooded one is slow and steady. The tiles below put numbers to that; the flow-duration curve reads left-to-right from the river’s typical high flows (Q5) down to its low flows (Q95) — a steep curve means a flashy river.

The physical character of the land that drains to this gauge, and how it shapes its flood response — from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH).

Baseflow Index
0.51
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
803 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +4% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
11%
partly urbanised
Median Annual Flood
443 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Recorded Flow
982 m³/s
8 Nov 2000
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 86.8824659.6028.105% (high)% of days exceeded95% (low)
Daily flow (m³/s) exceeded each % of the time — a steep curve is flashy, a flat one is steady. Q5 high · Q50 median · Q95 low.
Land Cover (2023)
Woodland 7%Grassland 48%Arable 23%Heath/scrub 2%Urban 18%Other 1%
Arable 28% → 23% since 1990

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, reservoir influence, public water supply, groundwater abstraction, effluent returns, industrial / agricultural abstraction.

Photos

Gauging-station photographs from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH).

Photos © NRFA / UKCEH & the measuring authority — shown at web resolution. Full gallery on the NRFA ↗

About this gauge

Velocity area station in the navigable Trent. New side looker ADCP instrument also undergoing trial and within calibration period.

More detail

The catchment

Predominantly Mercia Mudstone geology with some Permian and Triassic Sandstone and Carboniferous Limestone. Extensive terrace gravels and alluvium within river valleys maintain baseflow.

The station

Velocity area station in the navigable Trent. Main channel approximately 62m wide. Large navigation weir 2.5 miles downstream provides the hydraulic control for the flow equation.

How it measures flow

Holme sluices 750m upstream affect water levels up to medium flows. Bypassed at high flows on right bank more frequently historically prior to construction of Holme Pierrepoint National Watersports Centre in the 1980s. Flow is now contained to a higher stage but bypassing can still occur at extreme peaks. Hydro-power scheme installed in 2015 in old navigation lock. Fish pass installed in 2023 around upstream sluices. One rating applied across period of record.

Flow regime

Very substantial flow modifications owing to public water supply abstraction, effluent returns, cooling water and industrial usage. Reservoir(s) in catchment affect runoff. Runoff influenced by groundwater abstraction/recharge.

The flow record

Station is insensitive below Q95. High flow rating above 200 cumecs appears to be overestimating discharge and will be reviewed soon. Levels in 2011 possibly affected by left bank flood alleviation scheme. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2020 (WINFAP Files v9).

Descriptions from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH). NRFA station record ↗

Gauge Details

How this gauging station is built and how long it has measured (NRFA / UKCEH).

Gauge type
Velocity–area
Operating since
1958
Station datum
16.0 mAOD
Flow record
1958–2024 · 66 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1958
Hydrometric area
28
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Trent at Colwick flooding today?

The current level is 1.01m, which is within the typical range of 1.01 to 3.60m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Colwick?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling. The chart above shows the last 7 days of measurements, updated roughly every 15 minutes.

Why is the level slowly falling?

When little or no rain has fallen for a while, a river level gradually drops as the water stored in the ground and soil drains away with nothing to replace it. This is called baseflow recession and is normal in dry spells. A gentle decline like this is expected and is not a sign of a problem — downstream gauges often recede a little faster than headwaters further upstream, and levels recover once rain returns.

What is a normal level for the River Trent at Colwick?

The typical range at this station is 1.01m to 3.60m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 3.60m are higher than usually seen and may indicate a flood risk.

How often is this river level data updated?

Readings are taken by the Environment Agency gauge roughly every 15 minutes and FloodRadar refreshes its data continuously, so the level shown is normally less than an hour old.

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📮 Flood risk by postcode near this gauge

Postcodes within 5 km with properties in the Environment Agency’s rivers-and-sea flood-risk bands:

Check any UK postcode’s flood risk →

🏠 Buying or renting around here? Get the Property Flood-Risk Report for any English postcode — official risk band, floods since 1946, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off. Learn more →