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0.28

Thorverton

Exe
Exe catchment • Thorverton • Devon • ID: 45118 • Level
(1h ago) • 4 readings/hr • 189 views

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Current Level
0.284 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.285 m
24h Min
0.279 m
Typical Range
0.23 - 1.90
m
Highest Recorded
3.64 m
EA official record
3.64 in our data (since May 1956)
Current level is 8% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Rising · +0.2 cm over 6h
08 Oct 01:30 ▬ steady 0.284 m
08 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 0.284 m
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.284 m
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.284 m
08 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 0.285 m
08 Oct 00:15 ▬ steady 0.285 m
08 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady 0.285 m
07 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady 0.285 m
07 Oct 23:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.285 m
07 Oct 22:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.284 m
07 Oct 22:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.283 m
07 Oct 22:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.284 m
07 Oct 21:45 ▬ steady 0.283 m
07 Oct 21:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.283 m
07 Oct 21:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.282 m
07 Oct 21:00 ▬ steady 0.283 m
07 Oct 20:45 ▬ steady 0.283 m
07 Oct 20:30 ▬ steady 0.283 m
07 Oct 20:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.283 m
07 Oct 20:00 0.282 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Thorverton
  • Watercourse: River Exe
  • Nearest Town: Thorverton
  • County: Devon
  • Coordinates: 50°48'15"N 3°30'41"W (50.804270, -3.511305)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 May 1956
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 45118
  • RLOI id: 3260 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 45118-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: Exe
  • Typical Range: 0.233 – 1.900 m
  • Drainage Area: 601 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: 0.28 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.

28 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 11.6 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 26 report not discharging, and for 2 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
South West Water · into River Exe · 11.6 km upstream along the river
160 spills · 3,152 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Cottey Brook · 13.1 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Exe · 13.5 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Exe · 13.6 km upstream along the river
3 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Exe · 13.6 km upstream along the river
81 spills · 1,204 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Lowman · 13.7 km upstream along the river
74 spills · 622 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Exe · 14.2 km upstream along the river
3 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into River Exe · 14.3 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow

20 more further upstream, up to 58.0 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 (S) River Exe · 60 m away in a straight line · too close to the gauge to say which side
14 spills · 54 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of The River Exe Via Sws · 1.1 km away in a straight line · reaches the river through a sewer or culvert
1 spill · 2 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Silverton Stream Via Sws · 2.2 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
4 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Stream (S) · 2.6 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
4 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Stream (S) · 5.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
South West Water · into Trib Of River Exe · 5.4 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
79 spills · 992 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

6 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 1.90 m on about 4 days. This year so far: 1 day.

2026 1 day so far
2025 4 days
2024 8 days
2023 7 days
2022 0 days
2021 4 days
2020 7 days
2019 3 days
2018 3 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 10 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.3 km away).

48flood warnings 134flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 27 Jan 2026 — River Exe from Tiverton to Exeter, including Bickleigh

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 3 1
2025 2 5
2024 2 8
2023 9 9
2022 0 2
2021 2 9
2020 6 9
2019 1 12
2018 2 7
2017 0 7
2016 2 9
2015 1 7
2014 2 8
2013 1 8
2012 9 13
2011 0 1
2010 1 2
2009 1 7
2008 3 5
2007 1 3
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 Thorverton flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 10 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 2 more

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
0.53
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,363 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +5% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.6%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
176 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
286 m³/s
4 Dec 1960 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 16.3354.108.962.045% (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 11%Grassland 80%Arable 7%Urban 2%

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, reservoir influence, public water supply, groundwater abstraction, 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 with flat V bed control. Control point for operational releases from Wimbleball Reservoir.

More detail

The catchment

Headwaters drain Exmoor. Geology predominantly Devonian sandstones and Carboniferous Culm Measures, with subordinate Permian sandstones in the east. Moorland, forestry and a range of agriculture. No major catchment changes.

The station

Station started in 1956. Velocity-area station, approx. 32m wide. Non-standard flat V bed control constructed in 1973. Station is control point for operational releases from Wimbleball Reservoir. Station immediately below a bridge.

How it measures flow

Cableway present. Significant gravel deposition, and post-winter shoaling since major failure of upstream weir in 1999 which may affect flows, despite significant effort to ameliorate through frequent gauging and rating adjustments. Some flow (a minor amount) escapes from a mill upstream and bypasses the station through a 1m culvert under the road. The right bank has a considerable flood plain. Multiple peak flow ratings across the period of record.

Flow regime

Wimbleball Reservoir in catchment affects runoff. Other abstractions and recharge in catchment.

The flow record

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

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
1956
Station datum
25.9 mAOD
Flow record
1956–2024 · 68 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1956
Hydrometric area
45
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Exe at Thorverton flooding today?

The current level is 0.28m, which is within the typical range of 0.23 to 1.90m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Thorverton?

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 Exe at Thorverton?

The typical range at this station is 0.23m to 1.90m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.90m 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 →