← Back
Water Level Falling
Down from 0.94 at 15:00, now 0.89
0.89

Bleach Green Weir

Ehen ⚙ Structure
Derwent West Cumbria and Duddon catchment • Ennerdale Bridge • Cumberland • ID: 744111 • Level
(36m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 107 views

Set water level alerts

Get notified about Bleach Green Weir — tick as many as you like, they all share the notify settings below.

1 person already gets alerts for this gauge.

Drag the line on the chart, or type a value: m
Quick pick:

Each one is saved as its own alert — pause or remove them individually any time.

Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms

Current Level
0.887 m
▼ Falling
24h Max
0.942 m
24h Min
0.518 m
Typical Range
0.17 - 1.55
m
Highest Recorded
2.46 m
EA official record
A 3.91 reading (16 Mar 2013) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
Current level is 36% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Flood predictions aren't generated for lock / structure gauges — their levels are driven by gate operation, not by catchment rainfall, so the forecast models would have no skill here.

Recent Readings

Falling · -4 cm over 6h
10 Oct 00:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.887 m
10 Oct 00:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.885 m
10 Oct 00:00 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.886 m
09 Oct 23:45 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.890 m
09 Oct 23:30 ▼ -0.7 cm 0.896 m
09 Oct 22:30 ▼ -0.9 cm 0.903 m
09 Oct 22:15 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.912 m
09 Oct 22:00 ▲ +0.7 cm 0.910 m
09 Oct 21:45 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.903 m
09 Oct 21:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.909 m
09 Oct 21:15 ▼ -0.5 cm 0.912 m
09 Oct 21:00 ▲ +0.6 cm 0.917 m
09 Oct 20:45 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.911 m
09 Oct 20:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.919 m
09 Oct 20:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.921 m
09 Oct 20:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.920 m
09 Oct 19:45 ▼ -0.9 cm 0.919 m
09 Oct 19:30 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.928 m
09 Oct 19:15 ▲ +0.7 cm 0.932 m
09 Oct 19:00 0.925 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Bleach Green Weir
  • Watercourse: River Ehen
  • Nearest Town: Ennerdale Bridge
  • County: Cumberland
  • Coordinates: 54°31'32"N 3°25'1"W (54.525555, -3.416967)
  • 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: 744111
  • RLOI id: 5014 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 744111-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 3 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~16 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: ⚙ Yes — lock, weir, sluice or pump
  • Catchment Area: Derwent West Cumbria and Duddon
  • Typical Range: 0.169 – 1.550 m
  • Drainage Area: 44 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: 0.89 m (EA at 10 Oct 00:15)
  • 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

Nearby

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.

💧
United Utilities · into Hawes Gill · 2.3 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
51 spills · 43 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Colliergate Beck · 4.1 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
73 spills · 1,274 hours in 2025
Monitor offline: it cannot say whether it is discharging
💧
United Utilities · into Winder Beck · 4.5 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
33 spills · 85 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Eller Gill · 4.5 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
58 spills · 88 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Trib Of Winder Beck · 4.6 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Dub Beck · 5.2 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
68 spills · 188 hours in 2025
Discharging now since

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

2026 0 days so far
2025 5 days
2024 2 days
2023 0 days
2022 0 days
2021 2 days
2020 1 day
2019 0 days
2018 0 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 2006 for the 6 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 3.0 km away).

5severe warnings 39flood warnings 230flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 17 Dec 2025 — River Ehen at Egremont, Bleach Green, Ennerdale Mill, Bridge End, Vale View, Wood Bank, Rugby Club

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 0 6
2025 0 3 14
2024 0 2 13
2023 0 0 7
2022 0 1 5
2021 0 2 5
2020 0 0 9
2019 0 0 8
2018 0 0 4
2017 0 5 11
2016 0 0 8
2015 5 11 15
2014 0 1 9
2013 0 2 8
2012 0 4 10
2011 0 0 7
2010 0 1 10
2009 0 3 16
2008 0 4 17
2007 0 0 25
2006 0 0 23

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 Ennerdale Bridge flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 6 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

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
0.42
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
2,625 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +2% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.0%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
34.07 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
80.20 m³/s
19 Nov 2009 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 2.859.451.490.4105% (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 21%Grassland 56%Arable 1%Heath/scrub 15%Other 7%
Heath/scrub 20% → 15% since 1990

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, public water supply, industrial / agricultural abstraction.

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 weir gauging the outflow from Ennerdale Lake.

More detail

The catchment

Catchment geology of completely impervious Skiddaw Slates in the north west, Borrowdale Volcanics in the south east with intrusions in the centre. Mostly rough sheep grazing, with forestry on drift cover along river valley. No catchment changes known.

The station

Compound Crump profile weir from August 1973; 10.6m overall width; centre notch 3.0m wide and 0.3m lower than flanking crests each 3.5m wide. Measures flood discharge and compensation water from Ennerdale Water 800m u/s. The station was formerly known as Ennerdale Weir. Replaced narrow flume with side weir regarded as control for a rated section. Eel pass installed 2016.

How it measures flow

Wingwalls raised from 1.5m to 2.0m in 1999. However, flow above around 1.4m stage bypasses the station on right bank - observed during the large event in October 2008. Although a baffle plate has been installed, well surging, which can be over 20 mm at higher stages, can be a problem. Eel pass installed 2016. Permanent cableway, but gaugings do not include bypassing flow. Gaugings also carried out 30m downstream of weir. One rating applied, based on gaugings although above 1.5m rating is uncertain due to bypassing.

Flow regime

Although gauging Ennerdale lake outflow, the regime is much more responsive than other lake outflows in the area. Ennerdale Water (0.8 km u/s) provides public water supply for West Cumbria and industrial supply for Sellafield. Compensation flow.

The flow record

Considerable uncertainty due to bypassing in the largest events, such as October 2008 and November 2009. No data are presented for the earlier station (before 1973). Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2020 (WINFAP Files v9).

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
1973
Station datum
110.4 mAOD
Flow record
1973–2024 · 51 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1973
Hydrometric area
74
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Ehen at Bleach Green Weir flooding today?

The current level is 0.89m, which is within the typical range of 0.17 to 1.55m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Bleach Green Weir?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling. 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 Ehen at Bleach Green Weir?

The typical range at this station is 0.17m to 1.55m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.55m 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.

Embed this gauge on your website

Free live river-level widget — ideal for parish councils, angling clubs and local sites. Updates automatically.

Preview

📮 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 →