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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.36 at 16:00, now 0.30
0.30

Stanhope

Wear
Wear catchment • Stanhope • County Durham • ID: 024003 • Level
(1h ago) • 4 readings/hr • 157 views

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Current Level
0.298 m
▼ Easing
24h Max
0.409 m
24h Min
0.226 m
Typical Range
0.10 - 2.15
m
Highest Recorded
3.71 m
EA official record
3.98 in our data (since Jan 1961)
Current level is 8% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -4 cm over 6h
08 Oct 01:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.298 m
08 Oct 01:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.300 m
08 Oct 01:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.301 m
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.302 m
08 Oct 00:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.304 m
08 Oct 00:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.305 m
08 Oct 00:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.306 m
07 Oct 23:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.308 m
07 Oct 23:30 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.309 m
07 Oct 22:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.315 m
07 Oct 22:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.317 m
07 Oct 22:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.318 m
07 Oct 21:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.320 m
07 Oct 21:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.322 m
07 Oct 21:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.324 m
07 Oct 21:00 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.325 m
07 Oct 20:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.328 m
07 Oct 20:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.329 m
07 Oct 20:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.332 m
07 Oct 20:00 0.333 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Stanhope
  • Watercourse: River Wear
  • Nearest Town: Stanhope
  • County: County Durham
  • Nearest reservoir: Honey Hill - Waskerley (6.4 km) · 92.3% full (as of 28 Dec 2025)
  • Coordinates: 54°44'45"N 2°1'35"W (54.745941, -2.026369)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1958
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 024003
  • RLOI id: 8196 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 024003-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: Wear
  • Typical Range: 0.101 – 2.150 m
  • Drainage Area: 172 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: 0.30 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.

7 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 6.4 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 7 report not discharging.

💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Wear · 6.4 km upstream along the river
107 spills · 1,822 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Rookhope Burn · 7.2 km upstream along the river
59 spills · 596 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Rookhope Burn · 7.5 km upstream along the river
22 spills · 79 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Wear · 7.6 km upstream along the river
21 spills · 86 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Wear · 8.2 km upstream along the river
2 spills · 17 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Wear · 10.1 km upstream along the river
13 spills · 26 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Wear · 13.3 km upstream along the river
2 spills · 2 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 2.15 m on about 1 day. This year so far: 1 day.

2026 1 day so far
2025 1 day
2024 1 day
2023 2 days
2022 1 day
2021 0 days
2020 4 days
2019 1 day
2018 1 day
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 2011 for the 5 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.8 km away).

3flood warnings 24flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 5 Dec 2015 — River Wear at Stanhope

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2025 0 1
2023 0 3
2022 0 1
2021 0 1
2020 0 2
2019 0 1
2018 0 1
2017 0 2
2015 3 4
2013 0 6
2012 0 1
2011 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 Stanhope flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 5 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Flashy Rain runs off fast — levels rise and fall sharply, often within hours of heavy rain.

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
0.30
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,327 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +1% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.2%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
126 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
139 m³/s
5 Dec 2015 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 3.9915.851.750.5085% (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 2%Grassland 39%Heath/scrub 57%Other 1%
Heath/scrub 31% → 57% since 1990

Flow affected by: surface-water 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

Compound Crump profile weir gauging the upper Wear catchment. Flow regime influenced by Burnhope reservoir.

More detail

The catchment

Steep Pennine catchment. Mainly Lower Carboniferous Limestone, overlain by peat in headwaters and boulder clay and alluvium in valley. Some forestry but around three quarters grass pasture and moorland and some arable farming. No known catchment changes.

The station

Compound Crump profile weir located in a steep rocky section, overall width 19.1m, central low crest width 7.6m, Larinier fish pass completed August 2018. Wing walls raised in 1967. A temporary cableway was used d/s of the weir in late 1960s-early 1970s.

How it measures flow

Weir suffers periodic upstream gravel accumulation, formerly limited by a gravel trap, now ineffective. Flows contained on left bank up to 3.1m until July 2007 when the left wing wall was repaired and raised. Instruments originally on right bank but poor for measuring low flows due to sand and gravel deposition. Instruments moved to left bank from mid-1990s but stilling well thought to suffer from drawdown at high stages >1.5m. A second instrument was reinstated on the right bank in 1998 to improve measurement at high flow but left bank gauge remained the primary data until Feb 2002, when reverted fully to the right bank. In July 2007 the inlet pipe was extended by 2m to improve measurement at low levels due to the accumulation of gravel around the pipe. Two peak flows ratings applied across period of record, pre- and post- fish pass construction (2018), refined using hydraulic modelling. Model gives confidence in rating performing well at high flows. Flood Studies Report grade A1.

Flow regime

Very flashy response and extremely peaked flows. Burnhope reservoir (catchment area 19 sq.km) has noticeable effect; net export of water.

The flow record

Bypassing on the left bank affected flow events in 1995, 1999 and 2005. Flow of January 2005 event may be underestimated due to problems with gravel build up blocking the inlet pipe to the stilling well affecting level measurement. Weir repair and fish pass works commenced September 2017 resulting in inaccurate flow data until August 2018. Various periods of suspect flows throughout the record as a result of measurement problems due to gravel deposition and drawdown at high flows. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2019 (WINFAP Files v8).

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
Gauging structure
Operating since
1958
Station datum
202.0 mAOD
Flow record
1958–2024 · 66 yrs · 99% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1958
Hydrometric area
24
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Wear at Stanhope flooding today?

The current level is 0.30m, which is within the typical range of 0.10 to 2.15m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Stanhope?

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 Wear at Stanhope?

The typical range at this station is 0.10m to 2.15m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 2.15m 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 →