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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.74 at 12:15, now 0.69
0.69

Torrington

Torridge
Torridge and Hartland Streams catchment • Great Torrington • Devon • ID: 50116 • Level
(30m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 161 views

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Current Level
0.686 m
▼ Easing (-1cm/hr)
24h Max
0.743 m
24h Min
0.477 m
Typical Range
0.45 - 3.00
m
Highest Recorded
5.76 m
EA official record
5.71 in our data (since Aug 1960)
Current level is 12% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -5 cm over 5h
10 Oct 19:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.686 m
10 Oct 19:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.688 m
10 Oct 19:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.691 m
10 Oct 19:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.694 m
10 Oct 18:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.696 m
10 Oct 18:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.699 m
10 Oct 18:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.702 m
10 Oct 18:00 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.704 m
10 Oct 17:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.707 m
10 Oct 17:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.709 m
10 Oct 17:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.712 m
10 Oct 17:00 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.714 m
10 Oct 16:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.717 m
10 Oct 16:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.719 m
10 Oct 16:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.722 m
10 Oct 16:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.724 m
10 Oct 15:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.726 m
10 Oct 15:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.729 m
10 Oct 15:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.731 m
10 Oct 15:00 0.733 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Torrington
  • Watercourse: River Torridge
  • Nearest Town: Great Torrington
  • County: Devon
  • Coordinates: 50°56'47"N 4°8'14"W (50.946265, -4.137186)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 31 Jul 1960
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 50116
  • Also at this site: TORRINGTON (E81805, flow, reporting)
  • RLOI id: 3126 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 50116-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 2 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Torridge and Hartland Streams
  • Typical Range: 0.445 – 3.000 m
  • Drainage Area: 663 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 8 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: 0.69 m (EA at 10 Oct 19:45)
  • 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

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.

31 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 8.1 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 31 report not discharging.

💧
South West Water · into (S) Dodscott Brook · 8.1 km upstream along the river
84 spills · 1,260 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib. Of Woolleigh Brook · 11.9 km upstream along the river
143 spills · 920 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of River Torridge(S) · 20.8 km upstream along the river
118 spills · 1,678 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of Little Mere River · 21.4 km upstream along the river
144 spills · 1,461 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of Little Mere River(S) · 22.8 km upstream along the river
76 spills · 885 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Lew (S) · 30.3 km upstream along the river
58 spills · 855 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Lew · 30.5 km upstream along the river
46 spills · 30 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Lew · 30.6 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

23 more further upstream, up to 66.8 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 Castle Hill Stream · 220 m away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
58 spills · 75 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Watery Lane CSO🦪 Shellfish
South West Water · into Castle Hill Stream · 370 m away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
72 spills · 36 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Watery Lane CSO🦪 Shellfish
South West Water · into Castle Hill Stream Via Sws · 370 m away in a straight line · reaches the river through a sewer or culvert
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of River Mere · 1.5 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
17 spills · 5 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Dodscott Brook(S) · 3.6 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
21 spills · 184 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Tributary Of River Mere (S) · 4.1 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 River Torridge · 4.6 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
62 spills · 68 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Frithelstockstone Stream · 4.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
24 spills · 8 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

1 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

8 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 3.00 m on about 4 days. This year so far: 2 days.

2026 2 days so far
2025 6 days
2024 5 days
2023 7 days
2022 1 day
2021 2 days
2020 6 days
2019 1 day
2018 4 days
2017 0 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2006 for the 5 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.1 km away).

1severe warning 95flood warnings 138flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 27 Jan 2026 — River Torridge (Lower) from Dolton to Bideford, including Taddiport and Weare Giffard

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 2 1
2025 0 5 8
2024 0 9 9
2023 0 5 9
2022 0 2 2
2021 0 4 8
2020 0 9 10
2019 0 4 7
2018 0 3 9
2017 0 0 3
2016 0 1 7
2015 0 5 8
2014 1 9 6
2013 0 5 12
2012 0 17 17
2011 0 2 2
2010 0 1 1
2009 0 3 7
2008 0 4 5
2007 0 3 4
2006 0 2 3

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 Great Torrington 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
0.43
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,270 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +5% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.4%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
238 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
338 m³/s
27 Dec 1979 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 15.9160.207.380.9335% (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 13%Grassland 70%Arable 11%Heath/scrub 3%Urban 2%
Grassland 74% → 70% since 1990

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, reservoir influence, public water supply, effluent returns, industrial / agricultural abstraction.

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 built in 1960 and reconstructed in 1977.

More detail

The catchment

Large, rural catchment draining coastal hills in the west and Dartmoor Granite in the south. Geology mostly Carboniferous shales and sandstones of the Culm. Moorland, rough grazing and generally low grade agricultural land.

The station

Velocity area station on straight reach built in 1960. Main channel 28m wide, cableway span 57m.

How it measures flow

Station reconstructed in 1977. Mobile bed. Low profile structure installed 2006 to mimic and stabilise natural bed control. Overtopping begins on left bank at about 3.3m. Well calibrated throughout range. Multiple ratings applied across period of record. Ratings since 1977 have identical top limbs. Well calibrated throughout range. No major changes to catchment.

Flow regime

Moderate modification to flows from Meldon Reservoir. Runoff also affected by abstraction for public water supply and industry/agriculture and effluent returns.

The flow record

Records prior to Oct 1962 unreliable.

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
1962
Station datum
13.9 mAOD
Flow record
1960–2024 · 64 yrs · 97% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1960
Hydrometric area
50
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Torridge at Torrington flooding today?

The current level is 0.69m, which is within the typical range of 0.45 to 3.00m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Torrington?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling slightly. 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. 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.

What is a normal level for the River Torridge at Torrington?

The typical range at this station is 0.45m to 3.00m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 3.00m 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.

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