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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.03 at 16:15, now -0.01
-0.01

Forest Row

Medway
Medway catchment • Forest Row • East Sussex • ID: E1560 • Level
(1h ago) • 4 readings/hr • 167 views

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⤴ Unusual rise — FloodRadar+Top 1% rise rate for this gauge.
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Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms

Current Level
-0.014 mASD
▼ Easing
24h Max
0.025 mASD
24h Min
-0.032 mASD
Typical Range
0.04 - 1.82
mASD
Highest Recorded
2.26 mASD
EA official record
A 3.46 reading (24 Dec 2013) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -3 cm over 6h
08 Oct 01:30 ▼ -0.1 cm -0.014 mASD
08 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady -0.013 mASD
08 Oct 01:00 ▼ -0.1 cm -0.012 mASD
08 Oct 00:45 ▬ steady -0.011 mASD
08 Oct 00:30 ▼ -0.2 cm -0.010 mASD
08 Oct 00:15 ▼ -0.2 cm -0.008 mASD
08 Oct 00:00 ▼ -0.2 cm -0.006 mASD
07 Oct 23:45 ▼ -0.2 cm -0.004 mASD
07 Oct 23:30 ▼ -0.5 cm -0.002 mASD
07 Oct 22:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.003 mASD
07 Oct 22:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.005 mASD
07 Oct 22:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.007 mASD
07 Oct 21:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.008 mASD
07 Oct 21:30 ▬ steady 0.010 mASD
07 Oct 21:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.011 mASD
07 Oct 21:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.013 mASD
07 Oct 20:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.015 mASD
07 Oct 20:30 ▬ steady 0.017 mASD
07 Oct 20:15 ▬ steady 0.018 mASD
07 Oct 20:00 0.018 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Forest Row
  • Watercourse: River Medway
  • Nearest Town: Forest Row
  • County: East Sussex
  • Nearest reservoir: Weirwood (4.4 km) · 85.0% full (as of 31 Aug 2026)
  • Coordinates: 51°5'43"N 0°3'8"E (51.095381, 0.052195)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 2000
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E1560
  • RLOI id: 1072 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E1560-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: Medway
  • Datum: 55.079m AOD
  • Typical Range: 0.040 – 1.820 mASD
  • EA Cross-check: -0.02 mASD (EA at 8 Oct 01:45)

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

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.

3 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 1.2 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 3 report not discharging.

💧
Southern Water · into River Medway · 1.2 km upstream along the river
14 spills · 38 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The Sunnyside Stream · 5.4 km upstream along the river
15 spills · 55 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.
💧
Southern Water · into Trib Of The River Medway · 13.1 km upstream along the river
34 spills · 294 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.

💧
Southern Water · into The River Medway · 80 m away in a straight line · too close to the gauge to say which side
56 spills · 439 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Shovelstrode Stream · 3.4 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
104 spills · 2,283 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The Shovelstrode Stream · 5.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 5 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Unamed Trib Of Medway Via Pond · 5.6 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Unnamed Tributary Of R Medway · 5.7 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
4 spills · 6 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

3 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

This gauge rarely reaches its typical high of 1.82 m: 2 days since 2017. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 0 days
2024 0 days
2023 0 days
2022 0 days
2021 0 days
2020 1 day
2019 1 day
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 2012 for the 3 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.5 km away).

24flood warnings 115flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 16 Jan 2026 — River Medway between Forest Row and Penshurst

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 2 7
2025 0 5
2024 3 13
2023 0 15
2022 1 9
2021 2 8
2020 4 13
2019 2 9
2018 0 2
2017 1 4
2016 0 9
2015 0 1
2014 6 8
2013 2 3
2012 1 9

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 Forest Row flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 3 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Medway at Forest Row flooding today?

The current level is -0.01m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Forest Row?

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. Only about 0.0mm of rain has fallen nearby in the last 7 days, so the flow is being sustained mainly by groundwater. 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 Medway at Forest Row?

The typical range at this station is 0.04m to 1.82m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.82m 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 →