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0.04

Grendon Underwood

Ray ⚙ Structure
Cherwell Thame and Wye catchment • Grendon Underwood • Buckinghamshire • ID: 1471TH • Level
(25m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 158 views

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

Current Level
0.036 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.046 mASD
24h Min
0.036 mASD
Typical Range
0.01 - 0.94
mASD
Highest Recorded
1.86 mASD
EA official record
2.01 in our data (since Jan 1987)
Current level is 2% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Flood predictions aren't generated for lock / structure gauges — their levels are driven by gate operation, not by catchment rainfall, so the forecast models would have no skill here.

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.3 cm over 6h
08 Oct 13:30 ▬ steady 0.036 mASD
08 Oct 13:15 ▬ steady 0.036 mASD
08 Oct 13:00 ▬ steady 0.036 mASD
08 Oct 12:45 ▬ steady 0.036 mASD
08 Oct 12:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.036 mASD
08 Oct 12:00 ▬ steady 0.037 mASD
08 Oct 11:45 ▬ steady 0.037 mASD
08 Oct 11:30 ▬ steady 0.037 mASD
08 Oct 11:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.037 mASD
08 Oct 10:30 ▬ steady 0.038 mASD
08 Oct 10:15 ▬ steady 0.038 mASD
08 Oct 10:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.038 mASD
08 Oct 09:30 ▬ steady 0.039 mASD
08 Oct 09:15 ▬ steady 0.039 mASD
08 Oct 09:00 ▬ steady 0.039 mASD
08 Oct 08:45 ▬ steady 0.039 mASD
08 Oct 08:30 ▬ steady 0.039 mASD
08 Oct 08:15 ▬ steady 0.039 mASD
08 Oct 08:00 ▬ steady 0.039 mASD
08 Oct 07:45 0.039 mASD

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 1471TH
  • RLOI id: 7067 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 1471TH-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 1 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: ⚙ Yes — lock, weir, sluice or pump
  • Catchment Area: Cherwell Thame and Wye
  • Typical Range: 0.008 – 0.939 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 19 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 6 Oct (2 days behind — the EA publishes each day's mean a day or two after it ends; unchecked, provisional) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 0.04 mASD (EA at 8 Oct 13:15)
  • 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.

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 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

None of the storm overflows FloodRadar holds is traced upstream of this gauge on the mapped river network. That is not the same as none: the map leaves out many small streams and culverts, so an overflow it cannot place may still drain here, and not every company publishes every overflow. Those nearby are listed below.

Nearby, connection not known

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

💧
Thames Water · into Oxon Ray · 60 m away in a straight line · too close to the gauge to say which side
31 spills · 306 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Summerstown Ditch · 3.9 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
22 spills · 208 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Trib Of Padbury Brook · 5.5 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
6 spills · 3 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Poundon Brook Nt · 5.5 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 0 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 0.94 m on about 3 days. This year so far: 2 days.

2026 2 days so far
2025 3 days
2024 10 days
2023 1 day
2022 0 days
2021 5 days
2020 7 days
2019 2 days
2018 1 day
2017 1 day

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2011 for the 4 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 7.3 km away).

14flood warnings 98flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 24 Feb 2026 — River Ray from the Heath Bridge area to and including the Otmoor Basin

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 2 20
2025 1 10
2024 8 13
2023 0 9
2022 0 5
2021 1 5
2020 1 5
2019 0 4
2018 0 3
2017 0 2
2016 0 4
2015 0 2
2014 1 2
2013 0 4
2012 0 8
2011 0 2

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 Grendon Underwood flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 4 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Flashy Rain runs off fast — levels rise and fall sharply, often 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
0.24
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
655 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +1% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.4%
largely rural
Highest Daily Mean Flow
5.80 m³/s
3 Jun 2008 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.1010.4950.0145% (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 16%Grassland 60%Arable 18%Urban 3%Other 2%
Arable 27% → 18% 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

Representative catchment that is important in terms of a national network. It is now a key gauging station for climate change research in the UK. Operated as an experimental basin by IH until 1987. Subsequently managed by Thames Water and then by the EA.

More detail

The catchment

Relatively flat, impermeable (Oxford Clay) catchment largely given over to agriculture.

The station

Flat V weir, rebuilt in 1998, within a channel 6.5m wide. The first records for the new weir from 26 March, 1999. Originally a trapezoidal critical-depth flume with the capacity increased in 1964 to make station full range.

How it measures flow

Easily drowns owing to restriction caused by d/s culvert. Weir likely to become non-modular before bankful limit. Bypassing observed in exceptional floods but is not rated. Point at which the weir drowned (and therefore the flow calculation is completely uncertain) depends on d/s water levels, may be between 0.3m and 0.55m u/s stage (equivalent to approx 1.5 cumecs). One rating applied across period of record that operates to a standard theoretical rating. The weir is non modular during peak flows as the structure is designed primarily as a low flow structure. The last rating review was 2013. The modular limit is less than Qmed.

Flow regime

Negligible artificial disturbance to the very flashy, responsive flow regime.

The flow record

Some data loss during 1998 rebuild. Data from 1982-86 less reliable and incomplete. Natural flows to within 10% at Q95.

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
1962
Station datum
65.7 mAOD
Flow record
1962–2024 · 62 yrs · 95% complete
Hydrometric area
39
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Ray at Grendon Underwood flooding today?

The current level is 0.04m, which is within the typical range of 0.01 to 0.94m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Grendon Underwood?

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 Ray at Grendon Underwood?

The typical range at this station is 0.01m to 0.94m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.94m 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 →