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🌊 Tide going out · low water in ~4h

Budleigh South Farm Road West Bridge

Otter 🌊 Tidal
Otter, Sid, Axe and Lim catchment • Devon • ID: E85263 • Level
This gauge is tidally influenced — levels rise and fall with each tide, so rapid changes here are normal and don't necessarily indicate flooding.
(21m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 115 views

Set water level alerts

Get notified about Budleigh South Farm Road West Bridge — tick as many as you like, they all share the notify settings below.

You'll be notified when this gauge is rising more than 0.10 m/hr — a sign of rapidly increasing water levels.

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
0.840 mAOD
▼ Falling (-4cm/hr)
24h Max
1.855 mAOD
24h Min
0.478 mAOD
Typical Range
-
Highest Recorded
2.88 mAOD
EA official record
2.88 in our data (since May 2023)
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

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

Recent Readings

Falling · -94 cm over 5h
10 Oct 13:15 ▼ -0.7 cm 0.840 mAOD
10 Oct 13:00 ▼ -2 cm 0.847 mAOD
10 Oct 12:45 ▼ -3 cm 0.862 mAOD
10 Oct 12:30 ▼ -3 cm 0.887 mAOD
10 Oct 12:15 ▼ -3 cm 0.914 mAOD
10 Oct 12:00 ▼ -5 cm 0.943 mAOD
10 Oct 11:45 ▼ -4 cm 0.988 mAOD
10 Oct 11:30 ▼ -4 cm 1.025 mAOD
10 Oct 11:15 ▼ -5 cm 1.067 mAOD
10 Oct 11:00 ▼▼ -6 cm 1.113 mAOD
10 Oct 10:45 ▼▼ -7 cm 1.174 mAOD
10 Oct 10:30 ▼▼ -6 cm 1.240 mAOD
10 Oct 10:15 ▼▼ -7 cm 1.301 mAOD
10 Oct 10:00 ▼▼ -6 cm 1.368 mAOD
10 Oct 09:45 ▼▼ -7 cm 1.432 mAOD
10 Oct 09:30 ▼▼ -8 cm 1.501 mAOD
10 Oct 09:15 ▼▼ -8 cm 1.580 mAOD
10 Oct 09:00 ▼▼ -7 cm 1.655 mAOD
10 Oct 08:45 ▼▼ -6 cm 1.724 mAOD
10 Oct 08:30 1.780 mAOD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Budleigh South Farm Road West Bridge
  • Watercourse: River Otter
  • County: Devon
  • Coordinates: 50°38'21"N 3°18'53"W (50.639129, -3.314657)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 10 May 2023
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: Tidal / coastal station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E85263
  • RLOI id: 9568 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E85263-level-stage-i-15_min-mAOD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mAOD
  • Typical rise rate: 55 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: 🌊 Yes — levels follow the tide
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Otter, Sid, Axe and Lim
  • EA Cross-check: 0.86 mAOD (EA at 10 Oct 12:45)

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

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.

💧
Granary Lane (North) CSO🏊 Bathing water
South West Water · into Kersbrook Channel · 250 m away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
8 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Granary Lane CSO🏊 Bathing water
South West Water · into Trib Of River Otter (S) · 720 m away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
7 spills · 4 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Marine Parade CSO🏊 Bathing water
South West Water · into Knowle Stream · 1.2 km away in a straight line · its water cannot be followed on the map
5 spills · 7 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Fore Street CSO🏊 Bathing water
South West Water · into Knowle Stream · 1.3 km away in a straight line · its water cannot be followed on the map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now
💧
Lime Kiln Tank CSO🏊 Bathing water
South West Water · into English Channel · 1.3 km away in a straight line · discharges to the sea, an estuary or tidal water
83 spills · 114 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Otter · 1.3 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
80 spills · 321 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
The Green Tank CSO🏊 Bathing water
South West Water · into Knowle Stream · 1.4 km away in a straight line · its water cannot be followed on the map
4 spills · 5 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Meadow Road Tank CSO🏊 Bathing water
South West Water · into Knowle Stream · 1.5 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
6 spills · 2 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

4 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

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...

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2008 for the 3 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 5.7 km away).

5severe warnings 26flood warnings 0flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 27 Jan 2026 — River Otter (Lower) from Salston to Budleigh Salterton

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 2 0
2023 0 1 0
2021 0 1 0
2020 0 1 0
2018 0 1 0
2016 0 3 0
2015 0 1 0
2014 4 10 0
2012 0 6 0
2008 1 0 0

Warnings apply to a whole flood area, not necessarily this exact spot. Years before 2006 aren't covered by the EA's historic record.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 3 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Otter at Budleigh South Farm Road West Bridge flooding today?

The latest recorded level is 0.84m. Compare it with the recent history on the chart above to judge whether levels are unusually high.

Is the river level rising or falling at Budleigh South Farm Road West Bridge?

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.

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 4.6mm 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.

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 →