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Water Level Rising
Up 0.06 m since 04:30, still rising (0.01 m/h)
1.30

Ouse Bridge

Derwent
Derwent West Cumbria and Duddon catchment • Dubwath • Cumberland • ID: 751110 • Level
(35m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 114 views

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Current Level
1.301 m
▲ Rising
24h Max
1.301 m
24h Min
1.089 m
Typical Range
0.44 - 2.21
m
Highest Recorded
3.89 m
EA official record
3.87 in our data (since Jan 1976)
Current level is 33% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Rising · +4 cm over 5h
10 Oct 13:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 1.301 m
10 Oct 12:45 ▬ steady 1.299 m
10 Oct 12:30 ▲ +0.6 cm 1.298 m
10 Oct 12:15 ▬ steady 1.292 m
10 Oct 12:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 1.292 m
10 Oct 11:45 ▲ +0.4 cm 1.291 m
10 Oct 11:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 1.287 m
10 Oct 11:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 1.285 m
10 Oct 11:00 ▲ +0.5 cm 1.287 m
10 Oct 10:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 1.282 m
10 Oct 10:30 ▬ steady 1.281 m
10 Oct 10:15 ▬ steady 1.281 m
10 Oct 10:00 ▲ +0.3 cm 1.280 m
10 Oct 09:45 ▲ +0.3 cm 1.277 m
10 Oct 09:30 ▲ +0.6 cm 1.274 m
10 Oct 09:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 1.268 m
10 Oct 09:00 ▲ +0.3 cm 1.270 m
10 Oct 08:45 ▬ steady 1.267 m
10 Oct 08:30 ▲ +0.6 cm 1.267 m
10 Oct 08:15 1.261 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Ouse Bridge
  • Watercourse: River Derwent
  • Nearest Town: Dubwath
  • County: Cumberland
  • Coordinates: 54°40'41"N 3°14'42"W (54.677997, -3.244950)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1975
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 751110
  • RLOI id: 5103 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 751110-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 3 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Derwent West Cumbria and Duddon
  • Typical Range: 0.440 – 2.210 m
  • Drainage Area: 363 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 8 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: 1.30 m (EA at 10 Oct 12:45)
  • 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

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.

14 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 1.7 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 14 report not discharging.

💧
United Utilities · into Dubwath Beck · 1.7 km upstream along the river
12 spills · 78 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Trib Dubwath Beck · 4.0 km upstream along the river
113 spills · 2,044 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Halls Beck · 4.0 km upstream along the river
58 spills · 112 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Derwent · 9.5 km upstream along the river
77 spills · 907 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Pow Beck · 10.2 km upstream along the river
119 spills · 558 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Applethwaite Gill · 10.5 km upstream along the river
72 spills · 551 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Derwent · 10.6 km upstream along the river
6 spills · 9 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into The River Greta · 12.1 km upstream along the river
54 spills · 63 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

6 more further upstream, up to 22.8 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.

💧
United Utilities · into Gill Beck · 5.4 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
47 spills · 373 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

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 2.21 m on about 6 days. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 9 days
2024 1 day
2023 7 days
2022 0 days
2021 12 days
2020 15 days
2019 6 days
2018 2 days
2017 2 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 2008 for the 9 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 7.7 km away).

6severe warnings 24flood warnings 113flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 14 Dec 2025 — Rivers Cocker and Derwent at Cockermouth, Cricket Ground, Trout Hotel Car Park, Hatters Croft

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2025 0 4 8
2024 0 0 3
2023 0 0 6
2022 0 0 2
2021 0 4 7
2020 0 1 3
2019 0 0 6
2018 0 0 2
2017 0 1 4
2016 0 0 6
2015 5 9 13
2014 0 0 4
2013 0 0 7
2012 0 2 8
2011 0 0 5
2010 0 0 7
2009 1 1 10
2008 0 2 12

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 Dubwath flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 9 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 1 more

Catchment Character

🌊 Steep & flashy Steep catchment sheds rain quickly — expect fast, sharp rises after 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
0.44
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
2,306 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +7% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.3%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
103 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
342 m³/s
6 Dec 2015 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 17.4553.3310.942.055% (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 11%Grassland 73%Arable 1%Heath/scrub 9%Urban 1%Other 4%

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, 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 gauging outflows from Bassenthwaite Lake.

More detail

The catchment

An entirely rural catchment rising to the summit of Helvellyn. Entirely on impervious Lower Palaeozoic rocks supporting mainly rough pasture and moorland with deeply incised headwaters. Drift is confined to the valley floor. Catchment contains two large natural water bodies, Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake, also Thirlmere Reservoir. Entirely rural, mainly rough pasture and moorland. No catchment changes known.

The station

Velocity-area station opened March 1968. Channel 30m wide immediately downstream of Ouse Bridge itself, which is at the outlet to Bassenthwaite Lake. Station hut was originally on left bank, moved to right bank 1994/95, and rebuilt after Nov 2009 event.

How it measures flow

Low flow control is an artificial pipe about 120m downstream, close to an island which acts as a control for higher flows. Stony bank without much weed growth. Performs reasonably well at flood flows. New floodbank, 2006, constructed on right bank, raising containment level from 2.3m to 2.8m; rarely overtopped. However, the new flood bank was overtopped in the exceptional November 2009 event, which demolished the walls of the gauging hut (see photo). Station has permanent cableway. Rated by current meter to top of flood banks, with modelled rating above. Ratings applied before and after bank raising in June 2006, and after effects of November 2009, 2012 and 2015 events.

Flow regime

Derwent Water, Bassenthwaite Lake and Thirlmere Reservoir moderate flood discharges.

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
Velocity–area
Operating since
1968
Station datum
67.7 mAOD
Flow record
1968–2024 · 56 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1968
Hydrometric area
75
Measured by
Environment Agency

Rain upstream

This gauge has no rain model of its own, but it usually follows Scalehill Upper Lorton Valley: when about 15mm of rain falls near Scalehill Upper Lorton Valley in 6h, this gauge usually starts rising about 7 hours later.

Recent rain upstream: 2.8mm/6h — below Scalehill Upper Lorton Valley's usual trigger.

Record: this held 3 of 3 times (live) · rain gauge: Rainfall station

Experimental, from historical rain and river data. Not an official flood warning.

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Derwent at Ouse Bridge flooding today?

The current level is 1.30m, which is within the typical range of 0.44 to 2.21m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Ouse Bridge?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently rising. 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 Derwent at Ouse Bridge?

The typical range at this station is 0.44m to 2.21m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 2.21m 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 →