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0.07

Sydling St Nicholas

Sydling Water
Frome, Piddle, Poole Harbour and Purbeck catchment • Sydling St Nicholas • Dorset • ID: 44216 • Level
(29m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 163 views

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Current Level
0.065 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.072 mASD
24h Min
0.065 mASD
Typical Range
0.07 - 0.26
mASD
Highest Recorded
0.60 mASD
EA official record
0.60 in our data (since Jan 1992)
Current level is 11% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 5h
08 Oct 20:00 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 19:45 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 19:30 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 19:15 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 19:00 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 18:45 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 18:30 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 18:15 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 18:00 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 17:45 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 17:30 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 17:15 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 17:00 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 16:45 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 16:30 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 16:15 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 16:00 ▬ steady 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 15:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.065 mASD
08 Oct 15:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.066 mASD
08 Oct 15:15 0.065 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Sydling St Nicholas
  • Watercourse: Sydling Water
  • Nearest Town: Sydling St Nicholas
  • County: Dorset
  • Nearest reservoir: Sutton Bingham (14.1 km) · 44.6% full (as of 31 Aug 2026)
  • Coordinates: 50°47'43"N 2°31'22"W (50.795256, -2.522871)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Dec 1969
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 44216
  • RLOI id: 3273 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 44216-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 0 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Frome, Piddle, Poole Harbour and Purbeck
  • Typical Range: 0.072 – 0.255 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 76 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: 0.07 mASD (EA at 8 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 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

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.

4 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 0.26 m on about 37 days. This year so far: 50 days.

2026 50 days, 22 of them high · 22 high so far
2025 46 days, 4 of them high · 4 high
2024 83 days, 12 of them high · 12 high
2023 77 days, 12 of them high · 12 high
2022 15 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2021 18 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2020 65 days, 3 of them high · 3 high
2019 19 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
2018 12 days
2017 0 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 0.36 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2008 for the 6 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.5 km away).

188flood warnings 134flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 12 Mar 2026 — Groundwater flooding for the Sydling

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 17 4
2025 20 9
2024 31 13
2023 30 11
2022 9 7
2021 10 6
2020 7 8
2019 14 12
2018 3 10
2017 3 5
2016 21 11
2015 1 5
2014 6 8
2013 7 10
2012 7 13
2011 0 2
2008 2 0

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 Sydling St Nicholas 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
0.63
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,009 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +3% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
1.1%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
13.10 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
32.40 m³/s
27 Dec 1979 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 1.063.310.6510.1945% (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 57%Arable 24%Heath/scrub 3%Urban 3%
Grassland 50% → 57% 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

Velocity area station with Flat V weir for low flows.

More detail

The catchment

Catchment drains Devonian/Triassic sandstones between Quantock and Brendon Hills. Rapidly responsive catchment. Land-use is mostly rural with some urbanisation. No major changes in catchment.

The station

Opened in 1967 as velocity-area station with rock control. Flat V weir installed in August 1983 for low flows. New weir installed in 2018, with eel pass.

How it measures flow

Rated section at high flows. High flows measured from a gauging bridge constructed upstream of the weir. No problems with backing up from the bridge. Gauged to 13 cumecs. Comparison with nearby stations suggest pre-83 flows are underestimated. Two peak flow ratings across period of record, derived from a best fit through check gaugings; changes when weir was installed in 1983.

Flow regime

Runoff natural to within 10% at Q95. Some abstraction upstream for fish farming but flows not affected.

The flow record

Flow data unavailable 1982-83 due to stilling well leak. Flow data unavailable 1/08/83-31/3/84. Between 01/1967-12/1982 only daily mean flows available on EA archive. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2020 (WINFAP Files v9).

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
Flat-V weir
Operating since
1966
Station datum
9.3 mAOD
Flow record
1967–2024 · 57 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1967
Hydrometric area
51
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the Sydling Water at Sydling St Nicholas flooding today?

The current level is 0.07m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Sydling St Nicholas?

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 Sydling Water at Sydling St Nicholas?

The typical range at this station is 0.07m to 0.26m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.26m 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 →