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0.21

Fenny Bridges

Otter
Otter, Sid, Axe and Lim catchment • Fenny Bridges • Devon • ID: 45210 • Level
(1h ago) • 4 readings/hr • 135 views

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Current Level
0.205 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.221 m
24h Min
0.192 m
Typical Range
0.20 - 1.00
m
Highest Recorded
2.83 m
EA official record
2.83 in our data (since Sep 1974)
Current level is 7% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.5 cm over 6h
08 Oct 01:30 ▬ steady 0.205 m
08 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 0.205 m
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.205 m
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.205 m
08 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 0.206 m
08 Oct 00:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.206 m
08 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady 0.207 m
07 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady 0.207 m
07 Oct 23:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.207 m
07 Oct 22:30 ▬ steady 0.208 m
07 Oct 22:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.208 m
07 Oct 22:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.209 m
07 Oct 21:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.208 m
07 Oct 21:30 ▬ steady 0.209 m
07 Oct 21:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.209 m
07 Oct 21:00 ▬ steady 0.210 m
07 Oct 20:45 ▬ steady 0.210 m
07 Oct 20:30 ▬ steady 0.210 m
07 Oct 20:15 ▬ steady 0.210 m
07 Oct 20:00 0.210 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Fenny Bridges
  • Watercourse: River Otter
  • Nearest Town: Fenny Bridges
  • County: Devon
  • Nearest reservoir: Luxhay (20.8 km) · 39.8% full (as of 31 Aug 2026)
  • Coordinates: 50°46'48"N 3°15'26"W (50.780011, -3.257213)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Sep 1974
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 45210
  • RLOI id: 3239 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 45210-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 1 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Otter, Sid, Axe and Lim
  • Typical Range: 0.196 – 1.000 m
  • Drainage Area: 104 km² upstream of this gauge
  • 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
  • EA Cross-check: 0.21 m (EA at 8 Oct 01:45)
  • 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.

12 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 350 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 12 report not discharging.

💧
South West Water · into River Otter · 350 m upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Otter · 350 m upstream along the river
33 spills · 414 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of River Otter · 3.3 km upstream along the river
67 spills · 622 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Otter · 3.7 km upstream along the river
12 spills · 63 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of River Wolf · 5.6 km upstream along the river
32 spills · 239 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Otter · 6.1 km upstream along the river
148 spills · 1,329 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Otter · 6.1 km upstream along the river
75 spills · 1,096 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of River Otter (S) · 6.8 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

4 more further upstream, up to 23.5 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.

💧
South West Water · into Trib Of The River Otter · 2.2 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
34 spills · 80 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of River Otter · 2.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Groundwater Via Infilt System · 3.0 km away in a straight line · discharges to ground
17 spills · 21 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of The River Otter · 3.3 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
28 spills · 8 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of River Otter · 3.5 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
13 spills · 5 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Little Mere River · 3.8 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
119 spills · 2,058 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Ditch · 3.9 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
44 spills · 180 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of River Tale · 4.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
29 spills · 408 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

2 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

3 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 →

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 1.00 m on about 8 days. This year so far: 8 days.

2026 8 days, 4 of them high · 4 high so far
2025 11 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2024 17 days, 9 of them high · 9 high
2023 6 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2022 6 days, 3 of them high · 3 high
2021 13 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
2020 7 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2019 3 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2018 9 days, 3 of them high · 3 high
2017 3 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 1.14 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2006 for the 5 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 3.9 km away).

1severe warning 21flood warnings 237flood alerts

Most recent severe flood warning: 27 Jan 2026 — River Otter (Lower) at Ottery St. Mary

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 1 3 5
2025 0 0 14
2024 0 0 24
2023 0 0 12
2022 0 0 8
2021 0 2 10
2020 0 0 10
2019 0 0 12
2018 0 0 15
2017 0 0 6
2016 0 2 8
2015 0 0 8
2014 0 2 13
2013 0 2 13
2012 0 9 25
2011 0 0 7
2010 0 0 3
2009 0 0 13
2008 0 1 16
2007 0 0 10
2006 0 0 5

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 Fenny Bridges flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 5 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Fairly flashy Responds fairly quickly to rain, with moderate baseflow between events.

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
0.49
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,130 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +5% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
1.9%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
63.50 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
51.40 m³/s
7 Jul 2012 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 2.177.261.170.5315% (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 10%Grassland 76%Arable 8%Heath/scrub 1%Urban 5%

Flow affected by: 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 opened in 1974 in middle section of 3-arch bridge.

More detail

The catchment

Rises in the Greensand and Gault Clay of the Blackdown Hills. Keuper Marl in the lower reaches. Heathland, pasture and a range of agriculture. Includes urban area of Honiton. No major catchment changes.

The station

Velocity area station opened in 1974, incorporated in middle section of 3-arch bridge, with Flat V control and cableway.

How it measures flow

Bridge invert acts as control at high levels. Right bank likely to be over-topped at 2.2m stage when bypassing is likely. Good station. Weir crest repaired in 1994 (to similar level). One velocity-area rating extended to high flows applied across period of record. Excellent fit to gaugings across stage range.

Flow regime

Minor surface water abstractions in catchment including some for public water supply, but generally natural flow regime.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2019 (WINFAP Files v8) and in August 2025 (WINFAP Files v14).

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
1974
Station datum
54.7 mAOD
Flow record
1974–2024 · 50 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1974
Hydrometric area
45
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Otter at Fenny Bridges flooding today?

The current level is 0.21m, which is within the typical range of 0.20 to 1.00m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Fenny Bridges?

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 Otter at Fenny Bridges?

The typical range at this station is 0.20m to 1.00m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.00m 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 →