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0.27

Bedford

Great Ouse
Upper and Bedford Ouse catchment • Bedford • Bedford • ID: E21609 • Level
(1h ago) • 3 readings/hr • 197 views

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Current Level
0.268 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.273 mASD
24h Min
0.247 mASD
Typical Range
0.25 - 0.52
mASD
Highest Recorded
1.42 mASD
EA official record
1.32 in our data (since Nov 2012)
Current level is 19% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 7h
08 Oct 01:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.268 mASD
08 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 0.267 mASD
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.267 mASD
08 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 0.267 mASD
08 Oct 00:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.267 mASD
08 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady 0.266 mASD
07 Oct 23:30 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.266 mASD
07 Oct 22:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.263 mASD
07 Oct 22:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.262 mASD
07 Oct 21:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.261 mASD
07 Oct 21:30 ▲ +0.4 cm 0.260 mASD
07 Oct 21:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.256 mASD
07 Oct 20:45 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.254 mASD
07 Oct 20:30 ▲ +0.5 cm 0.252 mASD
07 Oct 20:00 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.247 mASD
07 Oct 19:30 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.250 mASD
07 Oct 19:15 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.256 mASD
07 Oct 19:00 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.262 mASD
07 Oct 18:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.268 mASD
07 Oct 18:30 0.269 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Bedford
  • Watercourse: River Great Ouse
  • Nearest Town: Bedford
  • County: Bedford
  • Nearest reservoir: Grafham (20.8 km) · 58.3% full (as of 5 Oct 2026)
  • Coordinates: 52°8'1"N 0°27'36"W (52.133733, -0.460042)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Mar 1993
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E21609
  • RLOI id: 6169 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E21609-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 2 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Upper and Bedford Ouse
  • Datum: 24.600m AOD
  • Typical Range: 0.252 – 0.524 mASD
  • EA Cross-check: 0.27 mASD (EA at 8 Oct 01:30)

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

Nearby Stations

Gauges connected to this river, and others nearby. A distance “by river” follows the river on the map; any other is in a straight line.

Connected upstream

Connected downstream

Same river system, separate branch

Distances by river: OS Open Rivers. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

💧 Storm overflows upstream of this gauge

Storm overflows whose water reaches this gauge on the mapped river network, nearest first by distance along the river. The status is each water company's monitor: it says whether an overflow is discharging, not how much or what it contains.

50 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 5.8 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 44 report not discharging, and for 6 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
Anglian Water · into River Great Ouse · 5.8 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Stevington Brook · 17.5 km upstream along the river
1 spill · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.
💧
Anglian Water · into River Great Ouse · 19.7 km upstream along the river
17 spills · 79 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into River Kym · 33.3 km upstream along the river
1 spill · 1 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
Placed on the river by its position alone.
💧
Anglian Water · into The Great River Ouse · 34.6 km upstream along the river
10 spills · 111 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into River Great Ouse Nt · 44.7 km upstream along the river
3 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Lavendon Brook River Great Ous · 48.8 km upstream along the river
37 spills · 142 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.
💧
Anglian Water · into River Great Ouse Nt · 63.3 km upstream along the river
16 spills · 186 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

42 more further upstream, up to 117.5 km away along the river.

Nearby, connection not known

Within 6 km in a straight line, but the river map cannot say whether their water passes this gauge.

💧
Anglian Water · into Trib River Great Ouse · 4.7 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
4 spills · 15 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Brook Duck End Elstow Brook · 5.6 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
2 spills · 10 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

1 other overflow within 6 km is downstream of this gauge or on another branch of the river network, so it is not listed.

These are the water companies' monitor statuses; a spill does not by itself explain a change in the gauge level. River connections and distances are traced on OS Open Rivers (edition 2026-04), which leaves out many small channels. Explore the sewage map →

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

Rainfall & Weather

Loading rainfall and weather data...

How often this river runs high

In a typical year this gauge reaches its typical high of 0.52 m on about 33 days. This year so far: 39 days.

2026 39 days so far
2025 30 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2024 95 days, 24 of them high · 24 high
2023 52 days
2022 4 days
2021 32 days, 4 of them high · 4 high
2020 34 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2019 19 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2018 23 days
2017 6 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 0.83 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2020 for the 11 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.3 km away).

1severe warning 25flood warnings 6flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 27 Nov 2024 — Low lying areas close to the River Great Ouse at Bedford

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 0 5
2025 0 0 1
2024 0 13 0
2021 0 2 0
2020 1 10 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 Bedford flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 11 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 3 more

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Great Ouse at Bedford flooding today?

The current level is 0.27m, which is within the typical range of 0.25 to 0.52m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Bedford?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently steady. The chart above shows the last 12 hours of measurements by default (up to 7 days), updated roughly every 15 minutes.

What is a normal level for the River Great Ouse at Bedford?

The typical range at this station is 0.25m to 0.52m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.52m are higher than usually seen and may indicate a flood risk.

How often is this river level data updated?

Readings are supplied by the Environment Agency gauge. FloodRadar checks for updates roughly every 15 minutes; the timestamp above shows how recent the latest available reading is.

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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, recorded floods, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off. Learn more →