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⤴Unusual rise — FloodRadar+Top 1% rise rate for this gauge.
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You'll be notified when this gauge is rising more than 0.10 m/hr — a sign of rapidly increasing water levels.
You'll be notified when a new storm-overflow (sewage) discharge starts within ~3 km of this gauge, based on the water companies' near-real-time feeds.
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Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on
EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms
Current Level
0.215 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.240 m
24h Min
0.205 m
Typical Range
0.13 - 2.50
m
Highest Recorded
4.73 m
EA official record
4.48 in our data (since Mar 1964)
Current level is 5% of this
🚽Sewage overflows nearby
Recent Water Levels
🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day
EA forecast (official)
Prediction V2
Prediction Eris
Nimbus beta
Experimental model fusing soil moisture, river flow, groundwater and catchment
character. The shaded band is its 10–90% range, widened so that about 80% of recent outcomes fall inside it.
Under evaluation — not yet promoted, so treat as a second opinion.
River Flow
90 days
Daily mean discharge (m³/s) with the daily min–max band, from the EA Hydrology API. Flow is the volume of water passing the gauge — often a more direct flood signal than level.
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
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 950 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 14 report not discharging.
South West Water · into Higher Leat Via Sws · 4.5 km away in a straight line · reaches the river through a sewer or culvert
1 spill · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
12 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.
18 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 →
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 Cowley flood history.
Flood areas linked to this gauge
Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 7 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.
🌊 Mixed responseA balance of quick runoff and slower groundwater baseflow.
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
0.58
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
941 mm/yr
1991–2020 · -3% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.9%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
76.41 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
108 m³/s
7 Dec 2000 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
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.
A v-shaped catchment draining moderate to high relief valleys to the N and W. Predominantly Culm Measures, sandstones and shales with some Permo-Triassic breccias and sandstones near Crediton. Low grade agriculture, grazing and forestry. No major catchment changes.
The station
Velocity area station in deep cutting. Rock bars form low flow control.
How it measures flow
Flood flows contained by railway tracks on the left bank and, on the right bank, by rock walls, gabions and a newly constructed Crib wall (03/2006) which extends along a large section upstream of the control. Bypassing minimal but occurs on left bank at very high flows. River bed re-profiled (shoal removed) following construction works in 2006, with multiple low flow ratings required since then due to shoaling. Flows above ~12 cumecs derived from modelled rating, though peak flows in 1999 and 2000 still considered overestimated. Current metering by wading for low flows. Multiple peak flow ratings applied across period of record however only upper limb shown. Low flow re-rating adjustments not shown. Upper limb derived from hydraulic model with good fit to available gaugings.
Flow regime
Runoff influenced by groundwater abstraction/recharge. Runoff increased by effluent returns.
The flow record
02/1995 flows missing due to station hut replacement. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in October 2018 (WINFAP Files v7).
Timing, not cause. Gauges can move together simply because the same rain fell on both.
Frequently asked questions
Is the River Creedy at Cowley Bridge flooding today?
The current level is 0.22m, which is within the typical range of 0.13 to 2.50m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at Cowley Bridge?
Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently steady. 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 Creedy at Cowley Bridge?
The typical range at this station is 0.13m to 2.50m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 2.50m 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:
FloodRadar
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9 Dec 2009 Looking Downstream, 10 cumecs.
29 Jun 2006 Upstream view from gauging station including new wall on RHB.
5 Mar 2003
19 Dec 1999
19 Dec 1999 Looking DS to hut at approx. 3.0m
19 Dec 1999
8 Nov 1995 Original RHB profile before wall construction in 2006
20 Dec 1983 Overspill on RHB at hut at 3.2m
Looking Downstream, 25 cumecs