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0.06

Harlow, Elizabeth Way

Canons Brook
Stort catchment • Harlow • Essex • ID: 5189TH • Level
(21m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 116 views

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Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on EA/SEPA data and are best-efforts. Terms

Current Level
0.058 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.058 mASD
24h Min
0.052 mASD
Typical Range
0.05 - 1.90
mASD
Highest Recorded
2.15 mASD
10 Jun 1993
Since Nov 1981
Current level is 3% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 6h
24 Aug 00:30 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
24 Aug 00:15 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
24 Aug 00:00 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 23:45 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 23:30 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 23:15 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 23:00 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 22:45 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 21:30 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 21:15 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 21:00 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 20:45 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 20:30 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 20:15 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 20:00 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 19:45 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 19:30 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 19:15 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 19:00 ▬ steady 0.058 mASD
23 Aug 18:45 0.058 mASD

Rainfall & Weather

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Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2009 for the 5 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.8 km away).

10flood warnings 3flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 14 Jan 2021River Stort at Harlow

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2025 0 1
2021 1 1
2014 3 1
2012 4 0
2010 1 0
2009 1 0

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 Harlow flood history.

Nearby Stations

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Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Harlow, Elizabeth Way
  • Watercourse: Canons Brook
  • Nearest Town: Harlow
  • County: Essex
  • Coordinates: 51°46'26"N 0°4'25"E (51.773908, 0.073644)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1981
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
  • Station Reference: 5189TH
  • EA Gauge ID: 5189TH-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Stort
  • Typical Range: 0.053 – 1.900 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 21 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Available (m³/s) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 0.06 mASD (EA at 24 Aug 00:15)
  • 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

🌊 Urban & flashy Heavily built-up — rain runs off hard surfaces fast, so levels can spike within hours of heavy rain.

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
0.35
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
636 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +4% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
25%
heavily urbanised
Median Annual Flood
7.58 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Recorded Flow
5.37 m³/s
5 May 1978
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.1730.6090.0850.0335% (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 29%Arable 14%Urban 49%
Urban 42% → 49% since 1990

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

Station located in the lower region of Canons Brook before it joins the Stort. It is an important (>50 yr) urban time series.

More detail

The catchment

The catchment geology is impervious dominated by London Clay. Rural headwaters but heavily urbanised d/s.

The station

Full range critical-depth flume in rectangular section. Between the years 1965 to 1980, low flows were monitored at a (less sensitive) Crump weir that was in series with the flume.

How it measures flow

3 limb power law rating based on the theory of flumes applied since flume became only form of measurement in 1979. Single rating across the period of record. Rating extends to 11 cumecs but majority of gaugings taken at low flows. Performance at low flows is poor, with flows being overestimated. However at medium to high flows gaugings suggest flow is underestimated. Further gaugings are required in the medium to high flow range.

Flow regime

Balancing resevoirs in Harlow (and the New Town development itself) influence the flow pattern but there are no significant abstractions or discharges. Natural to within 10% at Q95.

The flow record

Low flow record since 1979 thought to be inaccurate due to insensitive control. Uncertainty in the medium to high flow record due to lack of calibration gaugings. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2019 (WINFAP Files v8).

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
Flume
Operating since
1965
Station datum
37.5 mAOD
Flow record
1953–2024 · 71 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1953
Hydrometric area
38
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the Canons Brook at Harlow, Elizabeth Way flooding today?

The current level is 0.06m, which is within the typical range of 0.05 to 1.90m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Harlow, Elizabeth Way?

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

What is a normal level for the Canons Brook at Harlow, Elizabeth Way?

The typical range at this station is 0.05m to 1.90m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.90m 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.

Embed this gauge on your website

Free live river-level widget — ideal for parish councils, angling clubs and local sites. Updates automatically.

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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 →