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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.37 at 10:30, now 0.35
0.35

Witton Park

Wear
Wear catchment • Witton Park • County Durham • ID: 024008 • Level
(44m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 142 views

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Current Level
0.350 m
▼ Easing
24h Max
0.421 m
24h Min
0.350 m
Typical Range
0.29 - 3.40
m
Highest Recorded
4.34 m
EA official record
4.53 in our data (since Jan 1982)
Current level is 8% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.7 cm over 5h
08 Oct 19:45 ▬ steady 0.350 m
08 Oct 19:30 ▬ steady 0.350 m
08 Oct 19:15 ▬ steady 0.350 m
08 Oct 19:00 ▬ steady 0.350 m
08 Oct 18:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.350 m
08 Oct 18:30 ▬ steady 0.351 m
08 Oct 18:15 ▬ steady 0.351 m
08 Oct 18:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.351 m
08 Oct 17:45 ▬ steady 0.352 m
08 Oct 17:30 ▬ steady 0.352 m
08 Oct 17:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.352 m
08 Oct 17:00 ▬ steady 0.353 m
08 Oct 16:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.353 m
08 Oct 16:30 ▬ steady 0.354 m
08 Oct 16:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.354 m
08 Oct 16:00 ▬ steady 0.355 m
08 Oct 15:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.355 m
08 Oct 15:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.356 m
08 Oct 15:15 ▬ steady 0.357 m
08 Oct 15:00 0.357 m

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 024008
  • RLOI id: 8219 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 024008-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: 0.285 – 3.400 m
  • Drainage Area: 455 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: 0.35 m (EA at 8 Oct 19:30)
  • 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

Nearby

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.

19 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 2.4 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 18 report not discharging, and for 1 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Wear · 2.4 km upstream along the river
34 spills · 104 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Wear · 10.9 km upstream along the river
44 spills · 461 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Unnamed Trib Of River Wear · 12.9 km upstream along the river
16 spills · 19 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Waskerley Beck · 14.4 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Waskerley Beck (River Wear) · 14.4 km upstream along the river
29 spills · 38 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Wear · 18.0 km upstream along the river
52 spills · 513 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Wear · 19.4 km upstream along the river
3 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Wear · 22.5 km upstream along the river
29 spills · 170 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

11 more further upstream, up to 39.0 km away along the river.

Nearby, connection not known

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

💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Wear Tributary · 970 m away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Wear, Tributary Of · 2.0 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
32 spills · 33 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Coal Burn · 3.0 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
40 spills · 206 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Wear Trib · 3.1 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
22 spills · 20 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Wear Trib · 3.1 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Coal Burn · 3.1 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
5 spills · 8 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Unnamed Watercourse · 3.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Unnamed Watercourse · 3.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

15 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

45 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 3.40 m on about 1 day. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 1 day
2024 0 days
2023 1 day
2022 2 days
2021 1 day
2020 3 days
2019 0 days
2018 0 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 2010 for the 10 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.9 km away).

5flood warnings 55flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 9 Feb 2020 — River Wear at Bishop Auckland, Willington and Page Bank

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 3
2025 0 2
2024 0 4
2023 0 11
2022 0 2
2020 2 3
2019 0 3
2018 0 3
2017 0 1
2016 0 3
2015 0 4
2014 0 2
2013 2 3
2012 1 8
2011 0 2
2010 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 Witton Park flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 10 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 2 more

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
0.34
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,107 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +3% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.4%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
222 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
241 m³/s
23 Feb 1991 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 7.9927.704.081.205% (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 9%Grassland 42%Arable 2%Heath/scrub 45%Urban 1%Other 1%
Heath/scrub 35% → 45% since 1990

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, reservoir influence, public water supply.

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

Velocity area station with informal flat V weir. Flow regime influenced by Burnhope and Tunstall reservoirs.

More detail

The catchment

Predominantly upland Pennine catchment on mainly Carboniferous Limestone and Millstone Grit, with just under half the catchment overlain by superficial deposits (Boulder Clay and peat). Nearly two thirds grass pasture, with extensive moorland in headwaters, mixed land use in the lower valley. No known catchment changes.

The station

Velocity area station with informal flat V weir (25.3m overall, approx 1:20 side slopes) low flow control of rectangular section. Cableway.

How it measures flow

Flat V station prone to non-modularity and drowns at 0.815m. Flood banks both sides prevent bypassing. Gauge boards adjusted in July 2003 as a survey confirmed the average error as 70mm too low. One peak flow rating (Rating C) applied to the full period of record. Subsidence of weir between 1981 and 1991 is not thought to have impacted high flows. Gauging by cableway to flood levels, rating curve fitted to check gaugings.

Flow regime

Catchment contains Burnhope, Waskerley and Tunstall reservoirs (total direct catchment area 45 sq.km), and has a net export of water. Transfers by Kielder Tunnel from the Tyne catchment are made in drought years, entering the River Wear at Frosterley.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2020 (WINFAP Files v9). Rating reviewed in 2022 and data reprocessed from 1975.

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
1972
Station datum
76.8 mAOD
Flow record
1972–2024 · 52 yrs · 99% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1972
Hydrometric area
24
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Wear at Witton Park flooding today?

The current level is 0.35m, which is within the typical range of 0.29 to 3.40m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Witton Park?

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 7.6mm 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 River Wear at Witton Park?

The typical range at this station is 0.29m to 3.40m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 3.40m 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 →