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Water Level Rising Slightly
Up 0.03 m since 16:45, rising slightly
0.11

Pixton

Exe
Exe catchment • Pixton • Devon • ID: 45122 • Level
(29m ago) • 3 readings/hr • 139 views

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Current Level
0.106 mASD
▲ Rising slightly
24h Max
0.106 mASD
24h Min
0.080 mASD
Typical Range
0.12 - 1.40
mASD
Highest Recorded
2.24 mASD
EA official record
2.13 in our data (since Apr 1966)
Current level is 5% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Rising · +3 cm over 6h
08 Oct 02:45 ▬ steady 0.106 mASD
08 Oct 02:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.106 mASD
08 Oct 02:15 ▲ +0.4 cm 0.105 mASD
08 Oct 01:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.101 mASD
08 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 0.100 mASD
08 Oct 01:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.100 mASD
08 Oct 00:45 ▬ steady 0.099 mASD
08 Oct 00:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.099 mASD
08 Oct 00:15 ▬ steady 0.098 mASD
08 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady 0.098 mASD
07 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady 0.098 mASD
07 Oct 23:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.098 mASD
07 Oct 22:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.096 mASD
07 Oct 22:15 ▲ +0.6 cm 0.094 mASD
07 Oct 22:00 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.088 mASD
07 Oct 21:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.085 mASD
07 Oct 21:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.084 mASD
07 Oct 21:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.083 mASD
07 Oct 21:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.082 mASD
07 Oct 20:45 0.081 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Pixton
  • Watercourse: River Exe
  • Nearest Town: Pixton
  • County: Devon
  • Nearest reservoir: Wimbleball (4.6 km) · 21.0% full (as of 27 Sep 2026)
  • Coordinates: 51°1'23"N 3°31'12"W (51.023183, -3.519869)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 28 Apr 1966
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 45122
  • RLOI id: 3256 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 45122-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • 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: Exe
  • Typical Range: 0.120 – 1.400 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 160 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: 0.11 mASD (EA at 8 Oct 02:45)
  • 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.

4 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 8.8 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 4 report not discharging.

💧
South West Water · into Pulham River(S) · 8.8 km upstream along the river
97 spills · 1,670 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Exe · 9.8 km upstream along the river
4 spills · 29 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Exe(S) · 13.5 km upstream along the river
45 spills · 597 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Exe · 22.8 km upstream along the river
39 spills · 552 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

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 Iron Mill Stream (S) · 5.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
11 spills · 33 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

7 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 1.40 m on about 2 days. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 1 day
2024 3 days
2023 3 days
2022 0 days
2021 0 days
2020 6 days
2019 0 days
2018 0 days
2017 1 day

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 2.3 km away).

27flood warnings 249flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 27 Jan 2026 — River Batherm at Bampton

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 1 3
2025 1 7
2024 1 19
2023 4 17
2022 0 8
2021 0 16
2020 2 16
2019 0 19
2018 0 26
2017 0 9
2016 3 10
2015 0 10
2014 1 17
2013 1 13
2012 11 24
2011 0 3
2010 1 1
2009 1 10
2008 0 13
2007 0 6
2006 0 2

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 Pixton 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

🌊 Mixed response A 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
0.55
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,497 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +4% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.1%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
47.76 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
74.30 m³/s
22 Dec 2012 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 4.5414.802.500.7975% (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 85%Arable 2%Heath/scrub 1%Urban 1%Other 1%
Heath/scrub 6% → 1% since 1990

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, reservoir influence, 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

Full range velocity area station.

More detail

The catchment

The catchment is entirely within the Exmoor National Park. Headwaters rise on Exmoor. Solid geology, predominantly Upper Devonian Grit and Shale. South of this is a transitional group, between the Devonian and Carboniferous. Catchment is virtually drift free. Land use is a combination of moorland, rough grazing and forestry. Wimbleball Reservoir impoundment in 1978.

The station

Full range velocity area station in natural section immediately d/s of bridge. The bridge washed away in 1960. Channel about 12m wide.

How it measures flow

Shallow rock bar d/s of station is natural low flow control. Influence of bridge soffit upstream of station is unknown, although rating is thought to be reliably extrapolated to bankfull. No bypassing. Multiple ratings across period of record.

Flow regime

Minor abstractions in catchment including some for public water supply. Low flows significantly affected by Wimbleball Reservoir post-1979.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in October 2018 (WINFAP Files v7).

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
1966
Station datum
128.0 mAOD
Flow record
1966–2024 · 58 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1966
Hydrometric area
45
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Exe at Pixton flooding today?

The current level is 0.11m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Pixton?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently rising slightly. 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 Exe at Pixton?

The typical range at this station is 0.12m to 1.40m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.40m 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 →