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0.11

Launceston

Kensey
Tamar catchment • Launceston • Cornwall • ID: 47171 • Level
(1h ago) • 2 readings/hr • 127 views

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Current Level
0.110 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.116 m
24h Min
0.110 m
Typical Range
0.12 - 0.96
m
Highest Recorded
1.88 m
EA official record
A 3.18 reading (14 Aug 2025) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
Current level is 6% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.2 cm over 7h
08 Oct 01:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.110 m
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.111 m
08 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 0.111 m
08 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady 0.111 m
07 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady 0.111 m
07 Oct 23:30 ▬ steady 0.111 m
07 Oct 22:30 ▬ steady 0.111 m
07 Oct 22:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.111 m
07 Oct 21:45 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 21:30 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 21:00 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 20:45 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 20:30 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 20:15 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 20:00 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 19:30 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 19:15 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 18:45 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 18:30 ▬ steady 0.112 m
07 Oct 18:15 0.112 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Launceston
  • Watercourse: River Kensey
  • Nearest Town: Launceston
  • County: Cornwall
  • Nearest reservoir: Roadford (10.2 km) · 43.0% full (as of 27 Sep 2026)
  • Coordinates: 50°38'30"N 4°21'46"W (50.641712, -4.362839)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 19 Jun 2002
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 47171
  • RLOI id: 3337 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 47171-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: Tamar
  • Typical Range: 0.115 – 0.961 m
  • Drainage Area: 33 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: 0.11 m (EA at 8 Oct 01:45)
  • 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 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.

4 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 130 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 3 report not discharging, and for 1 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
South West Water · into River Kensey · 130 m upstream along the river
4 spills · 0 hours in 2024
Status unknown — the live feed has not updated for 21 d 17 h
💧
South West Water · into River Kensey · 160 m upstream along the river
5 spills · 2 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Kensey · 4.0 km upstream along the river
3 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Kensey (S) · 7.8 km upstream along the river
116 spills · 1,174 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.

💧
South West Water · into Lowley Brook (S) · 2.0 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
24 spills · 179 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Yeolm (S) · 2.6 km away in a straight line · several watercourses close by, nothing to choose between them
47 spills · 403 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of The River Otter · 3.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
21 spills · 19 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of River Tamar · 4.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
12 spills · 26 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of The River Ottery · 5.4 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
22 spills · 237 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of The River Tamar · 5.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
22 spills · 159 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Ottery (S) · 5.9 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Inny (S) · 6.0 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
59 spills · 902 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

6 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 0.96 m on about 3 days. This year so far: 4 days.

2026 4 days so far
2025 3 days
2024 3 days
2023 5 days
2022 0 days
2021 1 day
2020 8 days
2019 3 days
2018 2 days
2017 0 days

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 8 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.3 km away).

29flood warnings 452flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 9 Dec 2025 — River Lyd from Sydenham to Lifton

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 14
2025 2 20
2024 1 30
2023 0 34
2022 0 11
2021 3 22
2020 3 35
2019 1 31
2018 0 29
2017 0 28
2016 2 19
2015 0 19
2014 1 27
2013 4 21
2012 6 35
2011 0 19
2010 1 6
2009 3 17
2008 1 15
2007 0 14
2006 1 6

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 Launceston 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.

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
0.58
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,375 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +8% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
1.7%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
13.85 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
13.50 m³/s
22 Dec 2012 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.8962.910.4930.1005% (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 8%Grassland 79%Arable 6%Urban 6%
Arable 11% → 6% since 1990

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

Open channel rated section in canalised channel.

More detail

The catchment

The River Kensey catchment overlies Shale and Grit. Over this area, extensive mechanical deformation has taken place resulting in minor folding and faulting. Igneous activity in the form of Spilitic Lavas and intrusive Dolerite and Diabase is also evident within the catchment. From its source it flows through gently undulating or relatively level land with a fairly wide level valley floor. The Kensey flows from its source in a westerly direction towards Launceston. Just upstream of the town, the river passes under the rail embankment and then flows through a narrow, well defined floodplain. No major changes to catchment.

The station

Velocity area station, initially installed to collect data for feasibility studies surrounding flood defence scheme and was then upgraded to a permanent station forming part of the flood warning system for River Kensey.

How it measures flow

As the station is within a defended reach, flood flows are contained to a high level and all flows contained to date. Bankfull discharge is around 37m3/s. Two peak flow ratings across the period of record to take into account changes in the natural bed control. Rating developed by gaugings. Gauged to QMED and to around half of AMAX 1 but extrapolation considered reasonable as flows in bank. Some uncertainty exists in the low flow data due to the stony mobile bed conditions but flows are generally within 15-20%.

Flow regime

Predominantly rural catchment.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in August 2021 (WINFAP Files v10).

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
Velocity–area
Operating since
2002
Flow record
2002–2024 · 22 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 2002
Hydrometric area
47
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Kensey at Launceston flooding today?

The current level is 0.11m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Launceston?

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 Kensey at Launceston?

The typical range at this station is 0.12m to 0.96m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.96m 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 →