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0.09

Gribbleford Bridge

Lew
Torridge and Hartland Streams catchment • Hatherleigh • Devon • ID: 50121 • Level
(46m ago) • 3 readings/hr • 124 views

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Current Level
0.090 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.094 m
24h Min
0.089 m
Typical Range
0.09 - 1.80
m
Highest Recorded
2.96 m
EA official record
2.96 in our data (since Feb 1988)
Current level is 3% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 7h
09 Oct 13:15 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 12:45 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 12:30 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 12:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.090 m
09 Oct 11:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.089 m
09 Oct 11:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.090 m
09 Oct 11:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.089 m
09 Oct 10:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.090 m
09 Oct 10:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.091 m
09 Oct 10:00 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 09:45 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 09:30 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 09:00 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 08:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.090 m
09 Oct 08:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.089 m
09 Oct 07:45 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 07:30 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 07:15 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 07:00 ▬ steady 0.090 m
09 Oct 06:45 0.090 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Gribbleford Bridge
  • Watercourse: River Lew
  • Nearest Town: Hatherleigh
  • County: Devon
  • Nearest reservoir: Meldon (10.4 km) · 29.0% full (as of 4 Oct 2026)
  • Coordinates: 50°47'36"N 4°5'26"W (50.793303, -4.090425)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 22 Feb 1988
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 50121
  • RLOI id: 3121 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 50121-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: 0.094 – 1.800 m
  • Drainage Area: 71 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 7 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: 0.09 m (EA at 9 Oct 13:15)
  • 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.

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

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.

💧
South West Water · into Northlew Strm And Tributary(S) · 3.4 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
76 spills · 437 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of Pulworthy Brook (S) · 4.9 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
95 spills · 1,323 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of Beckamoor Brook · 5.6 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
126 spills · 2,580 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

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 1.80 m on about 1 day. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 2 days
2024 0 days
2023 0 days
2022 0 days
2021 3 days
2020 1 day
2019 0 days
2018 0 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 6 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 2.2 km away).

31flood warnings 93flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 9 Dec 2025 — River Lew at Gribbleford Bridge and Hatherleigh

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 1
2025 3 7
2024 2 4
2023 0 1
2022 0 1
2021 2 4
2020 4 8
2019 0 4
2018 0 5
2017 2 1
2016 1 4
2015 4 9
2014 0 4
2013 3 11
2012 7 16
2011 0 3
2009 0 3
2008 2 5
2007 1 1
2006 0 1

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 Hatherleigh flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 6 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
0.41
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,269 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +1% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.1%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
51.35 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
36.50 m³/s
9 Feb 2009 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 1.706.840.6740.0475% (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 82%Arable 4%Urban 1%
Grassland 86% → 82% since 1990

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

Flat V control built in 2002 to replace previous informal Flat V control built in 1988.

More detail

The catchment

Natural catchment of moderate relief draining Carboniferous Culm Measures (shales, limestones, sandstones). Wholly rural, moorland and rough grazing, minor forestry. No major changes to catchment.

The station

Informal Flat V control built in 1988; 10.4m wide between high angle, trapezoidal gabion wing walls. Some erosion of weir crest. Station replaced by more formal Flat-V construction in 10/2002 at or about same location, with new weir, wing walls and datum. Station is on a gentle bend with reasonably straight approach. Cableway. Natural catchment but station was installed to monitor potential transfer from Roadford Reservoir.

How it measures flow

Large floods inundate left bank, and very high flows will bypass station. No backwater effects. Three peak flow ratings applied across period of record, the most recent is valid from 10/2002 when weir was rebuilt.

Flow regime

Runoff natural to within 10%.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in August 2021 (WINFAP Files v10) 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
1988
Station datum
81.3 mAOD
Flow record
1988–2024 · 36 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1988
Hydrometric area
50
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Lew at Gribbleford Bridge flooding today?

The current level is 0.09m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Gribbleford 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 Lew at Gribbleford Bridge?

The typical range at this station is 0.09m to 1.80m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.80m 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 →