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0.18

Fenny Bridges

Otter
Otter, Sid, Axe and Lim catchment • Fenny Bridges • Devon • ID: 45210 • Level
(36m ago) • 3 readings/hr • 114 views

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Current Level
0.182 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.186 m
24h Min
0.176 m
Typical Range
0.20 - 1.00
m
Highest Recorded
2.83 m
27 Jan 2026
Since Sep 1974
Current level is 6% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.3 cm over 6h
23 Aug 23:15 ▬ steady 0.182 m
23 Aug 23:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.182 m
23 Aug 22:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.183 m
23 Aug 21:30 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 21:15 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 21:00 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 20:45 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 20:30 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 20:15 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 20:00 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 19:45 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 19:30 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 19:15 ▬ steady 0.184 m
23 Aug 19:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.184 m
23 Aug 18:45 ▬ steady 0.185 m
23 Aug 18:30 ▬ steady 0.185 m
23 Aug 18:15 ▬ steady 0.185 m
23 Aug 18:00 ▬ steady 0.185 m
23 Aug 17:45 ▬ steady 0.185 m
23 Aug 17:30 0.185 m

Rainfall & Weather

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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 2026River 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.

Nearby Stations

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Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Fenny Bridges
  • Watercourse: River Otter
  • Nearest Town: Fenny Bridges
  • County: Devon
  • Nearest reservoir: Luxhay (20.8 km) · 84.8% full (as of 29 Jun 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
  • Station Reference: 45210
  • 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: Available (m³/s) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 0.18 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

🌊 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 Recorded Flow
51.40 m³/s
7 Jul 2012
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 0.18m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very 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 7 days of measurements, 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 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.

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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 →