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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.
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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
EA forecast (official)
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.
River Flow
90 days
Daily mean discharge (m³/s) with the daily min–max band, from the EA Hydrology API. Flow is the volume of water passing the gauge — often a more direct flood signal than level.
Downstream level
7 days
The level on the DOWNSTREAM side of this lock/weir structure — a separate EA
measure from the main (upstream) reading shown on the Current tab. Threshold bands
are computed from this gauge's own downstream history.
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
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.
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 →
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.
🌊 FlashyRain 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
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.
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.
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
Nearby Groundwater
Soil Moisture
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: