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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.18 at 20:15, now 0.14
0.14

Broughton

Broughton Brook
Upper and Bedford Ouse catchment • Broughton • City of Milton Keynes • ID: E21408 • Level
(32m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 136 views

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Current Level
0.139 mASD
▼ Easing
24h Max
0.219 mASD
24h Min
0.110 mASD
Typical Range
0.07 - 0.34
mASD
Highest Recorded
1.54 mASD
EA official record
1.15 in our data (since Oct 1987)
Current level is 9% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -2 cm over 5h
08 Oct 05:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.139 mASD
08 Oct 05:00 ▬ steady 0.140 mASD
08 Oct 04:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.141 mASD
08 Oct 04:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.142 mASD
08 Oct 04:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.145 mASD
08 Oct 03:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.146 mASD
08 Oct 03:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.148 mASD
08 Oct 03:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.150 mASD
08 Oct 03:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.151 mASD
08 Oct 02:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.153 mASD
08 Oct 02:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.154 mASD
08 Oct 02:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.155 mASD
08 Oct 02:00 ▬ steady 0.157 mASD
08 Oct 01:45 ▬ steady 0.157 mASD
08 Oct 01:30 ▬ steady 0.157 mASD
08 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 0.157 mASD
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.157 mASD
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.157 mASD
08 Oct 00:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.158 mASD
08 Oct 00:15 0.159 mASD

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E21408
  • RLOI id: 6164 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E21408-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 2 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
  • Typical Range: 0.070 – 0.341 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 67 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: 0.14 mASD (EA at 8 Oct 05:15)
  • 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.

💧
Anglian Water · into Tributary River Great Ouse · 5.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
15 spills · 30 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Anglian Water · into Loughton Brook · 5.8 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
10 spills · 19 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow

3 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 0.34 m on about 29 days. This year so far: 24 days.

2026 24 days, 3 of them high · 3 high so far
2025 21 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2024 62 days, 18 of them high · 18 high
2023 47 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2022 14 days
2021 33 days, 8 of them high · 8 high
2020 30 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2019 14 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2018 22 days
2017 18 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 0.84 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2019 for the 4 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 2.2 km away).

29flood warnings 4flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 5 Jan 2025 — Water Eaton Brook at Water Eaton

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 2
2025 1 2
2024 18 0
2021 6 0
2020 3 0
2019 1 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 Broughton 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

🌊 Fairly flashy Responds fairly quickly to rain, with moderate baseflow between events.

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
0.48
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
654 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +5% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
3.8%
partly urbanised
Median Annual Flood
12.91 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
21.83 m³/s
23 Sep 2024 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.3441.180.1220.0385% (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 15%Grassland 31%Arable 37%Urban 18%
Arable 51% → 37% since 1990

Flow affected by: groundwater abstraction, effluent returns.

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

Station modified in 1977 gauging a flat catchment with greedsand bedrock, significant artificial influences due to public water supply abstraction.

More detail

The catchment

Predominantly flat, the edge just impinging on the Chiltern escarpment. Clay and Greensand catchment, with some Boulder Clay cover. Mixed agricultural land use with some forestry in S, and significant urban development.

The station

Flat V Crump profile weir 7.0m wide installed in 1977 when river realigned. Prior to 23/6/77 trapezoidal critical depth flume 7.4m wide, horizontal crest 1m wide, located at SP892405.

How it measures flow

Flume was subject to drowning but flows were corrected. Current rating includes floodplain flow and accounts for drowning. One peak flow rating applied across period of record.

Flow regime

Runoff influenced by groundwater abstraction and recharge. One Greensand groundwater puclic water supply abstraction accounts for virtually all the abstraction in the catchment. Station located near Cotton Valley STW. Runoff increased by effluent return.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2023 (WINFAP Files v12).

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
1971
Station datum
56.6 mAOD
Flow record
1970–2024 · 54 yrs · 99% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1970
Hydrometric area
33
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the Broughton Brook at Broughton flooding today?

The current level is 0.14m, which is within the typical range of 0.07 to 0.34m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Broughton?

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. Only about 0.0mm of rain has fallen nearby in the last 7 days, so the flow is being sustained mainly by groundwater. 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 Broughton Brook at Broughton?

The typical range at this station is 0.07m to 0.34m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.34m 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 →