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Drag the line on the chart, or type a value:mASD
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You'll be notified when this gauge is rising more than 0.10 m/hr — a sign of rapidly increasing water levels.
You'll be notified when a new storm-overflow (sewage) discharge starts within ~3 km of this gauge, based on the water companies' near-real-time feeds.
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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
0.114 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.130 mASD
24h Min
0.114 mASD
Typical Range
0.10 - 1.25
mASD
Highest Recorded
2.43 mASD
EA official record
2.20 in our data (since Jan 1985)
Current level is 5% of this
🚽Sewage overflows nearby
Recent Water Levels
🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day
EA forecast (official)
Flood predictions aren't generated for
lock / structure gauges —
their levels are driven by gate operation,
not by catchment rainfall, so the forecast models would have no skill here.
River Flow
90 days
Daily mean discharge (m³/s) with the daily min–max band, from the EA Hydrology API. Flow is the volume of water passing the gauge — often a more direct flood signal than level.
Downstream level
7 days
The level on the DOWNSTREAM side of this lock/weir structure — a separate EA
measure from the main (upstream) reading shown on the Current tab. Threshold bands
are computed from this gauge's own downstream history.
Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 8 Oct (2 days behind — the EA publishes each day's mean a day or two after it ends; unchecked, provisional)via EA Hydrology
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.
Thames Water · into N/A · 3.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
4 spills · 17 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
14 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.
10 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 →
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 Hendon 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.
🌊 Urban & flashyHeavily built-up — rain runs off hard surfaces fast, so levels can spike within hours of heavy rain.
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
0.18
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
694 mm/yr
1991–2020 · -1% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
40%
heavily urbanised
Median Annual Flood
13.08 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
8.55 m³/s
29 Oct 2000 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
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 8%Grassland 24%Arable 4%Urban 63%
Photos
Gauging-station photographs from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH).
The station is located on the Silk Stream, a small tributary of the River Brent. A Flat V weir but used as a rated section. The station is used in a number of national studies of urban and suburban runoff response.
More detail
The catchment
Catchment is largely London Clay with a little Drift cover. Rural/suburban headwaters and is heavily urbanised downstream. Responsive regime.
The station
A Flat V weir but used as a rated section in a channel 8.5m wide. Used for both Water Resourse and Flood Incident management. Only flow gauging station on the Silk Stream and situated downstream of confluences with Edgware Brook and Deans Brook. Current weir used since November 1973, replacing earlier stations dating back to 1928.
How it measures flow
Weir in concrete section is the control at low/medium flows. A downstream bridge acts as a control in high flows (1.3m gauge height) and will cause the weir to drown. Tail recorder data shows that the modular limit is variable but generally occurs at stages between 0.4 and 0.5m. Debris in the channel can influence the hydrometric performance and siltation between the weir and downstream bridge is also a problem. Significant upstream deposition can occur and this can also alter the performance of the weir. The structure is operated as a rated section with 2 limbs. The lower limb is based on the theoretical rating for a Flat V weir, gaugings suggest there is a tendency to overestimate flows. The upper limb, which covers the non-modular range, was derived from very limited gaugings because access is difficult at high flows, and confidence remains low. One peak flow rating across period of record.
Flow regime
Responsive regime. Net impact of abstractions and discharges uncertain; artificial influences evident at low flows.
The flow record
Some bypassing occurs during floods (July 2007 flood exceeded the calibration limit and peak flow may be underestimated). Patchy flow record prior to 1981. Daily flow data from 1975-1978 estimated using modelling and should be treated with caution. Poorer quality pre-1973 data available for two earlier stations on the river (built in 1928 and 1944); significant river improvements undertaken in the 1950s. Manual adjustment of AMAX flows on 21-Oct-1987, 08-Jul-1989, 03-Feb-1990 and 23-Sep-1992 when levels exceeded bank full, using Costons Lane (39131) as an indicator of a more reliable flow. Levels are known to surcharge against the downstream road bridge which acts as a control at 1.7m height. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in August 2025 (WINFAP Files v14).
How this gauging station is built and how long it has measured (NRFA / UKCEH).
Gauge type
Flat-V weir
Operating since
1973
Station datum
39.9 mAOD
Flow record
1973–2024 · 51 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1928
Hydrometric area
39
Measured by
Environment Agency
Nearby Groundwater
Soil Moisture
Frequently asked questions
Is the Silk Stream at Colindale flooding today?
The current level is 0.11m, which is within the typical range of 0.10 to 1.25m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at Colindale?
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 Silk Stream at Colindale?
The typical range at this station is 0.10m to 1.25m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.25m 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:
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