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⏱ Last reading 2h ago
0.31

Thornborough

Great Ouse
Upper and Bedford Ouse catchment • Thornborough • Buckinghamshire • ID: E60901 • Level
(2h ago) • 1 reading/hr • 147 views

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Last Level
0.307 mASD
⚠ 2h ago · may be out of date
24h Max
0.325 mASD
24h Min
0.276 mASD
Typical Range
0.32 - 0.62
mASD
Highest Recorded
1.24 mASD
EA official record
A 1.52 reading (1 Jan 2014) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
Current level is 25% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 11h
08 Oct 00:00 ▼ -2 cm 0.307 mASD
07 Oct 18:00 ▬ steady 0.325 mASD
07 Oct 17:45 ▬ steady 0.325 mASD
07 Oct 17:30 ▬ steady 0.325 mASD
07 Oct 17:15 ▬ steady 0.325 mASD
07 Oct 17:00 ▬ steady 0.325 mASD
07 Oct 16:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.325 mASD
07 Oct 16:30 ▬ steady 0.324 mASD
07 Oct 16:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.324 mASD
07 Oct 16:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.323 mASD
07 Oct 15:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.322 mASD
07 Oct 15:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.321 mASD
07 Oct 15:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.319 mASD
07 Oct 15:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.318 mASD
07 Oct 14:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.316 mASD
07 Oct 14:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.315 mASD
07 Oct 14:15 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.313 mASD
07 Oct 14:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.311 mASD
07 Oct 13:45 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.309 mASD
07 Oct 13:30 0.307 mASD

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E60901
  • Also at this site: THORNBOROUGH MILL SLUICE AUTOMATION (E24964, flow, reporting)
  • RLOI id: 6159 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E60901-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 0 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: 71.100m AOD
  • Typical Range: 0.318 – 0.624 mASD
  • EA Cross-check: 0.31 mASD (EA at 8 Oct 00:00)

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.

11 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 7.0 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 9 report not discharging, and for 2 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
Anglian Water · into River Great Ouse · 7.0 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Great River Ouse · 7.6 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into River Great Ouse · 7.7 km upstream along the river
10 spills · 3 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
Anglian Water · into Padbury Brook · 8.5 km upstream along the river
10 spills · 139 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.
💧
Anglian Water · into Padbury Brook · 13.2 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Trib Of Padbury Brook · 17.1 km upstream along the river
6 spills · 3 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into River Great Ouse Nt · 19.4 km upstream along the river
25 spills · 34 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Horwood Brk/Claydon Brk River · 20.0 km upstream along the river
18 spills · 152 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.

3 more further upstream, up to 24.4 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 Ditch Trib River Great Ouse Nt · 880 m away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
35 spills · 307 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Leckhampstead Brook · 3.6 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
47 spills · 653 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into River Ouse · 3.8 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Claydon Brook-Great River Ouse · 4.9 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Beachampton Brook · 5.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
36 spills · 571 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 0.62 m on about 7 days. This year so far: 2 days.

2026 2 days, 1 of them high · 1 high so far
2025 6 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2024 23 days, 19 of them high · 19 high
2023 1 day, 1 of them high · 1 high
2022 0 days
2021 8 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2020 10 days, 8 of them high · 8 high
2019 6 days, 3 of them high · 3 high
2018 3 days
2017 2 days, 1 of them high · 1 high

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 0.75 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2016 for the 7 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.2 km away).

19flood warnings 21flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 25 Nov 2024 — Low lying areas close to the River Great Ouse at Stony Stratford

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 12
2025 0 9
2024 13 0
2020 3 0
2016 3 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 Thornborough flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 7 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Great Ouse at Thornborough flooding today?

The current level is 0.31m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Thornborough?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling slightly. 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 Great Ouse at Thornborough?

The typical range at this station is 0.32m to 0.62m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.62m 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:

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