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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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Current Level
0.156 m
▼ Easing
24h Max
0.258 m
24h Min
0.156 m
Typical Range
0.15 - 2.30
m
Highest Recorded
2.74 m
2 Jun 2026
Since Jan 1976
Current level is 6% 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.
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.
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
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.
9 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 410 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 9 report not discharging.
United Utilities · into Carr Brook · 5.2 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
9 spills · 11 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
5 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.
12 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 Wilmslow flood history.
Flood areas linked to this gauge
Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 8 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.
🌊 Mixed responseA balance of quick runoff and slower groundwater baseflow.
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
0.55
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
988 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +7% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
11%
partly urbanised
Median Annual Flood
17.46 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
19.64 m³/s
31 Jul 2019 · 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.
Compound Crump weir gauging a responsive catchment rising to the western Pennines.
More detail
The catchment
Moderate relief catchment with steep, reservoired headwaters. Catchment rises on the western edge of the Pennines. Upper catchment drains Millstone Grit, generally Drift free. Otherwise Boulder Clay and glacial sands and gravel over Permo-Triassic sandstone. Land use is mainly agricultural but contains Macclesfield. No catchment changes known.
The station
Compound Crump profile weir, 9.3m wide overall, consisting of central crest 4.12m wide and two side crests each 2.13m wide and 0.377 m higher; divide piers 1.0m, wing walls 2.0m. A pumped eel pass and pre barrage fish pass were installed April 2015.
How it measures flow
No bypassing reported. Single rating derived from gaugings. No cableway - higher flows gauged off road bridge. Downstream levels recorded from February 2005, and indicate onset of non-modular flow around 1.15m. Flood Studies Report grade A2.
Flow regime
Responsive regime. Headwater reservoirs control 5% of the catchment area. One major sewage treatment works, upstream of station.
The flow record
Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2020 (WINFAP Files v9).
Timing, not cause. Gauges can move together simply because the same rain fell on both.
Frequently asked questions
Is the River Bollin at Wilmslow flooding today?
The current level is 0.16m, which is within the typical range of 0.15 to 2.30m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at Wilmslow?
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 Bollin at Wilmslow?
The typical range at this station is 0.15m to 2.30m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 2.30m 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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