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⚠ No recent data · last reading 28d ago
0.03

Clipstone Brook

Clipstone Brook
Upper and Bedford Ouse catchment • Leighton Buzzard • Central Bedfordshire • ID: E21987 • Level
(28d ago) • 4 readings/hr • 91 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

Last Level
0.030 m
⚠ 28d ago · may be out of date
24h Max
-
24h Min
-
Typical Range
0.02 - 1.47
m
Highest Recorded
2.71 m
22 Sep 2024
Since Dec 2002
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Rainfall & Weather

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Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2019 for the 5 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.5 km away).

37flood warnings 20flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 5 Jan 2025Water Eaton Brook at Water Eaton

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2025 1 3
2024 33 11
2021 3 2
2020 0 3
2019 0 1

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 Leighton Buzzard flood history.

Nearby Stations

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Station Details

  • Station Reference: E21987
  • EA Gauge ID: E21987-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical data delay: ~25 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Upper and Bedford Ouse
  • Typical Range: 0.022 – 1.470 m
  • Drainage Area: 39 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Available (m³/s) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 0.03 m (EA at 26 Jul 03:00)
  • 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

🌊 Fairly flashy Responds fairly quickly to rain, with moderate baseflow between events.

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
0.37
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
659 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +1% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
1.2%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
9.06 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Recorded Flow
13.25 m³/s
23 Sep 2024
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.2350.9060.0820.0165% (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 6%Grassland 37%Arable 51%Urban 4%Other 2%

Flow affected by: groundwater abstraction, effluent returns, industrial / agricultural abstraction.

About this gauge

A triangular Flat V weir gauging a predominantly rural, Greensand catchment with some artificial influences. Multiple structures in operation during POR.

More detail

The catchment

Greensand catchment, tributary to the river Ouzel. Predominantly rural, minor urban development (Leighton Buzzard).

The station

A triangular Flat V weir installed in 2002, 1km u/s of the previous structures: Crump weir (1966-1980) broad-crested weir (1957-1962).

How it measures flow

Current daily flow rating considers drowning although there are limited gaugings to confirm rating. Two peak flow ratings applied across period of record, the most recent is valid from Oct 2002 when the new weir was constructed.

Flow regime

Runoff influenced by groundwater abstraction/recharge. Runoff reduced by industrial/agricultural abstraction. Runoff augmented by effluent returns.

The flow record

Peak flow data are only presented for the current structure (01/10/2006 onwards). Gap in record when station not operational (1980-2002). Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2023 (WINFAP Files v12).

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
Flat-V weir
Operating since
1957
Station datum
86.8 mAOD
Flow record
1957–2024 · 67 yrs · 60% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1957
Hydrometric area
33
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the Clipstone Brook at Clipstone Brook flooding today?

The current level is 0.03m, which is within the typical range of 0.02 to 1.47m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Clipstone Brook?

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 Clipstone Brook at Clipstone Brook?

The typical range at this station is 0.02m to 1.47m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.47m 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 →