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0.26

Bridge Trafford

Gowy
Lower Mersey catchment • Bridge Trafford • Cheshire West and Chester • ID: 684027 • Level
(25m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 122 views

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Current Level
0.258 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.265 m
24h Min
0.258 m
Typical Range
0.20 - 1.60
m
Highest Recorded
2.57 m
EA official record
2.57 in our data (since Aug 1979)
Current level is 10% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.2 cm over 5h
08 Oct 13:30 ▬ steady 0.258 m
08 Oct 13:15 ▬ steady 0.258 m
08 Oct 13:00 ▬ steady 0.258 m
08 Oct 12:45 ▬ steady 0.258 m
08 Oct 12:30 ▬ steady 0.258 m
08 Oct 12:15 ▬ steady 0.258 m
08 Oct 12:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.258 m
08 Oct 11:45 ▬ steady 0.259 m
08 Oct 11:30 ▬ steady 0.259 m
08 Oct 11:15 ▬ steady 0.259 m
08 Oct 11:00 ▬ steady 0.259 m
08 Oct 10:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.259 m
08 Oct 10:30 ▬ steady 0.260 m
08 Oct 10:15 ▬ steady 0.260 m
08 Oct 10:00 ▬ steady 0.260 m
08 Oct 09:45 ▬ steady 0.260 m
08 Oct 09:30 ▬ steady 0.260 m
08 Oct 09:15 ▬ steady 0.260 m
08 Oct 09:00 ▬ steady 0.260 m
08 Oct 08:45 0.260 m

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 684027
  • RLOI id: 5019 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 684027-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 1 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Lower Mersey
  • Typical Range: 0.196 – 1.600 m
  • Drainage Area: 156 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: 0.26 m (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.

Nearby

💧 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.

2 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 8.1 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 2 report not discharging.

💧
United Utilities · into Milton Brook · 8.1 km upstream along the river
34 spills · 141 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Gowy · 22.8 km upstream along the river
46 spills · 96 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

Nearby, connection not known

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

💧
United Utilities · into Trib Of Stanney Mill Brook · 850 m away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
44 spills · 551 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Trib Of Stanney Mill Brook · 850 m away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
31 spills · 178 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Thornton Brook/River Gowy · 3.9 km away in a straight line · its water cannot be followed on the map
54 spills · 393 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into Tributary Of River Lugg · 4.0 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now
💧
United Utilities · into Hornsmill Brook · 4.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water · into Tributary Of Finchetts Gutter · 4.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now
💧
United Utilities · into West Central Drain, Mersey Est · 4.9 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
11 spills · 41 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Stanney Brook · 5.1 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
10 spills · 39 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

7 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

4 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 →

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 1.60 m on about 5 days. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 4 days
2024 16 days
2023 7 days
2022 0 days
2021 5 days
2020 6 days
2019 9 days
2018 0 days
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 2006 for the 7 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 5.4 km away).

31flood warnings 50flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 6 Jan 2025 — Highfield Drain and Finchetts Gutter at Abbot's Mead, Chester

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2025 1 4
2024 9 10
2023 2 4
2022 2 2
2021 2 0
2020 5 3
2019 1 8
2018 2 0
2017 0 1
2016 1 1
2014 3 0
2013 2 3
2012 1 4
2008 0 3
2007 0 6
2006 0 1

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 Bridge Trafford 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.

Catchment Character

🌊 Mixed response A 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
0.54
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
748 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +3% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
1.7%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
15.37 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
22.71 m³/s
21 Jan 2021 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 1.214.110.6210.2475% (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 6%Grassland 67%Arable 23%Urban 4%
Grassland 71% → 67% since 1990

Flow affected by: public water supply, groundwater abstraction.

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

Flat V weir gauging a largely rural catchment in Cheshire.

More detail

The catchment

A largely rural catchment in the Cheshire Plain; low relief, glacial drift over Triassic sandstones and marl. No catchment changes known.

The station

A standard Flat V weir, 6m wide with 1:10 cross-slopes, opened in August 1979, located 30m upstream of a tight bend. Station replaced Picton (68002, 1km d/s).

How it measures flow

Cableway present. Variable backwater due to significant seasonal weed growth (e.g. in 2008). Maintenance of downstream channel reduced after 1999. Flows affected by backwater estimated by gauging upstream within road bridge. Siltation can also cause backwater problems (channel is intermittently dredged). High flows inundate adjacent fields. Some circulation effects downstream of structure near right bank. Originally gauged with a current meter by cableway, which did not include bypassing. Complex range of issues since January 2012: reduced dredging and conveyance of sediment affecting rating curve and stage discharge techniques, whilst broken tidal flaps have introduced tidal fluctuations in stage record. As a result, flow derivation suspended in 2012, to explore alternative flow measurement methods, but since re-instated. Originally a theoretical rating. The separate ratings for summer and winter make some allowance for varying weed and siltation. Out of bank flows are only known approximately.

Flow regime

Responsive regime. Sluice gates control flow downstream to catchment outflow into Manchester Ship Canal. Some minor abstractions and discharges.

The flow record

Revised gauged daily flows from start of record (08/1979) to 10/1981 loaded on 11/08/2009 due to new rating that reduced the flows. Gauged daily flows rejected from 11/07/2009 to 10/10/2009. A high flow gauging on 26/6/2007 was made by ADCP from the bridge, which included all flows - see photograph for out of bank flows at around 2.22m. 1981 and 2000 floods are under review. Discontinuity in low flows (e.g. 24/05/18 and 26/09/19) caused by switch to summer rating. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in October 2018 (WINFAP Files v7).

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
1979
Station datum
4.1 mAOD
Flow record
1979–2024 · 45 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1979
Hydrometric area
68
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Gowy at Bridge Trafford flooding today?

The current level is 0.26m, which is within the typical range of 0.20 to 1.60m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Bridge Trafford?

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 Gowy at Bridge Trafford?

The typical range at this station is 0.20m to 1.60m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.60m 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.

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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 →