Ribble Douglas and Crossens catchment
• Blackburn • Blackburn with Darwen • ID: 713118 • Level
(33m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 111 views
Set water level alerts
Get notified about Blackburn Waterfall — tick as many as you like, they all share the notify settings below.
Alert me when (tick one or more)
⤴Unusual rise — FloodRadar+Top 1% rise rate for this gauge.
Height for "Above a height"
Drag the line on the chart, or type a value:m
Quick pick:
You'll be notified when this gauge is rising more than 0.10 m/hr — a sign of rapidly increasing water levels.
You'll be notified when a new storm-overflow (sewage) discharge starts within ~3 km of this gauge, based on the water companies' near-real-time feeds.
Notify by (tick one or more)
Your browser will ask permission, then you'll get a notification even when FloodRadar isn't open.
On iPhone: tap Share → Add to Home Screen first, then open it from there and set the alert. Show me how
Each one is saved as its own alert — pause or remove them individually any time.
Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on
EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms
Current Level
0.641 m
▼ Falling
24h Max
0.949 m
24h Min
0.425 m
Typical Range
0.50 - 1.40
m
Highest Recorded
3.42 m
EA official record
3.37 in our data (since Dec 2013)
Current level is 19% of this
🚽Sewage overflows nearby
Recent Water Levels
🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day
EA forecast (official)
Prediction V2
Prediction Eris
Nimbus beta
Experimental model fusing soil moisture, river flow, groundwater and catchment
character. The shaded band is its 10–90% range, widened so that about 80% of recent outcomes fall inside it.
Under evaluation — not yet promoted, so treat as a second opinion.
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.
21 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 510 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 19 report not discharging, and for 2 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.
United Utilities · into Queens Park Culvert · 1.7 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
18 spills · 44 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
21 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.
26 other overflows within 6 km are downstream of this gauge or on another branch of the river network, so they are 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 →
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 Blackburn flood history.
Flood areas linked to this gauge
Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 16 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.
Timing, not cause. Gauges can move together simply because the same rain fell on both.
Frequently asked questions
Is the River Darwen at Blackburn Waterfall flooding today?
The current level is 0.64m, which is within the typical range of 0.50 to 1.40m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at Blackburn Waterfall?
Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling. The chart above shows the last 12 hours of measurements by default (up to 7 days), 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 Darwen at Blackburn Waterfall?
The typical range at this station is 0.50m to 1.40m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.40m 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.
Embed this gauge on your website
Free live river-level widget — ideal for parish councils, angling clubs and local sites. Updates automatically.
Preview
📮 Flood risk by postcode near this gauge
Postcodes within 5 km with properties in the Environment Agency’s rivers-and-sea flood-risk bands:
FloodRadar
Log inCreate free account