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0.42

Cropple How

Esk
Derwent West Cumbria and Duddon catchment • Eskdale Green • Cumberland • ID: 742006 • Level
(33m ago) • 3 readings/hr • 98 views

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Current Level
0.424 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.447 m
24h Min
0.424 m
Typical Range
0.37 - 1.88
m
Highest Recorded
2.36 m
14 Nov 1980
Since Jan 1976
Current level is 18% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.6 cm over 6h
23 Aug 23:15 ▬ steady 0.424 m
23 Aug 23:00 ▬ steady 0.424 m
23 Aug 22:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.424 m
23 Aug 21:30 ▬ steady 0.426 m
23 Aug 21:15 ▬ steady 0.426 m
23 Aug 21:00 ▬ steady 0.426 m
23 Aug 20:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.426 m
23 Aug 20:30 ▬ steady 0.427 m
23 Aug 20:15 ▬ steady 0.427 m
23 Aug 20:00 ▬ steady 0.427 m
23 Aug 19:45 ▬ steady 0.427 m
23 Aug 19:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.427 m
23 Aug 19:15 ▬ steady 0.428 m
23 Aug 19:00 ▬ steady 0.428 m
23 Aug 18:45 ▬ steady 0.428 m
23 Aug 18:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.428 m
23 Aug 18:15 ▬ steady 0.429 m
23 Aug 18:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.429 m
23 Aug 17:45 ▬ steady 0.430 m
23 Aug 17:30 0.430 m

Rainfall & Weather

Loading rainfall and weather data...

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2006 for the 2 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 7.0 km away).

22flood warnings 112flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 4 Apr 2026Cumbrian coastline from St Bees Head to Haverigg, along the coast from North Head to Haverigg

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 1 1
2025 0 1
2024 3 5
2023 1 3
2022 2 8
2021 2 9
2020 8 10
2019 0 2
2018 3 16
2017 0 4
2016 0 2
2015 0 5
2014 2 14
2013 0 2
2012 0 3
2010 0 4
2008 0 11
2007 0 5
2006 0 7

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 Eskdale Green flood history.

Nearby Stations

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Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Cropple How
  • Watercourse: River Esk
  • Nearest Town: Eskdale Green
  • County: Cumberland
  • Coordinates: 54°22'5"N 3°20'21"W (54.367990, -3.339036)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1975
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
  • Station Reference: 742006
  • EA Gauge ID: 742006-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 9 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: 0.370 – 1.880 m
  • Drainage Area: 70 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Available (m³/s) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 0.42 m (EA at 23 Aug 23:15)
  • 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.

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
2,484 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +2% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.0%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
107 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Recorded Flow
96.58 m³/s
19 Nov 2009
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 4.6816.022.480.4365% (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 5%Grassland 93%Arable 1%Other 1%
Grassland 84% → 93% 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

Velocity area station gauging steep, rural flashy catchment in the western Lake District.

More detail

The catchment

A steep rural, flashy, catchment with geology comprising impervious Ordovician andesitic lavas and tuffs with massive granitic intrusion, virtually drift free. Mountainous catchment (maximum altitude at Scafell Pike), with no industry or urbanisation, supports rough pasture and moorland for sheep grazing; grassland in valley. Catchment includes Burnmoor Tarn. No catchment changes known.

The station

Velocity area station, opened October 1974. Channel 17.3m across, banks about 2m.

How it measures flow

An open channel site where a rough stone ford downstream forms some control for low flows. Changes to the ford and problems with gauging sites have necessitated frequent rating changes at the site. Due to the nature of the rough control, there is low confidence in the low flow data, although no known major problems. Low Flows - Cobble accretion problems at control variably affecting levels and low flow derivation. High Flows - no known problems up to bank full. Above bank full, rating does not include bypass flow. Multiple peak flow ratings across period of record.

Flow regime

Flashy regime with no known artificial influences.

The flow record

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
Velocity–area
Operating since
1974
Station datum
6.2 mAOD
Flow record
1976–2024 · 48 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1974
Hydrometric area
74
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Esk at Cropple How flooding today?

The current level is 0.42m, which is within the typical range of 0.37 to 1.88m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Cropple How?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently steady. The chart above shows the last 7 days of measurements, updated roughly every 15 minutes.

What is a normal level for the River Esk at Cropple How?

The typical range at this station is 0.37m to 1.88m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.88m are higher than usually seen and may indicate a flood risk.

How often is this river level data updated?

Readings are taken by the Environment Agency gauge roughly every 15 minutes and FloodRadar refreshes its data continuously, so the level shown is normally less than an hour old.

Embed this gauge on your website

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

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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, floods since 1946, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off. Learn more →