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⤴Unusual rise — FloodRadar+Top 1% rise rate for this gauge.
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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
0.149 mASD
▲ Rising slightly
24h Max
0.159 mASD
24h Min
0.123 mASD
Typical Range
0.04 - 1.14
mASD
Highest Recorded
2.16 mASD
EA official record
A 3.86 reading (23 Sep 1992) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
Current level is 7% of this
ⓘ
Flood alert
The Essex coast from Clacton to and including, St Peters Flat and the Colne and Blackwater estuaries
High tides overnight may lead to flooding.
Flooding is possible on consecutive tides from 11pm on Friday 9th October through to 1am on Saturday 10th October.
Clacton Promenade, Lee-over-Sands and Brightlingsea sea front may see some wave overtopping and spray. The Strood at Mersea Island, Coast Road and car parks on the front at West Mersea, and the Hythe and Promenade at Maldon may be flooded. The detailed forecast is for a peak level at Clacton of 2.90 mAODN at 12am, on Saturday 10th October, which is 0.48m above tide tables, Wind Force 6, Westerly. Tides will remain high over the next couple of days.
We are closely monitoring the situation .
Avoid coastal roads, footpaths and carparks, which may be flooded.
This message will be updated by 9:00AM on Saturday 10 October or as the situation changes.
Experimental model fusing soil moisture, river flow, groundwater and catchment
character. The shaded band is its 10–90% range, widened so that about 80% of recent outcomes fall inside it.
Under evaluation — not yet promoted, so treat as a second opinion.
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.
EARLS COLNE FGS (E22745) — flow at this site
7 days
A separate gauge 17.4 m from this one at the same site, shown here for context.
Its readings are its own and are never merged with this page's.
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
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.
6 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 2.2 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 6 report not discharging.
Anglian Water · into Toppesfield Brook River Colne · upstream (distance along the river not measured)
40 spills · 145 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
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 →
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 Colne Engaine flood history.
Flood areas linked to this gauge
Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 4 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.
🌊 Mixed responseA 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
0.51
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
614 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +2% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
2.1%
largely rural
Highest Daily Mean Flow
27.70 m³/s
3 Jan 2003 · 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.
Station gauging a predominantly rural catchment with mixed geology and significant artificial influences, prone to siltation.
More detail
The catchment
Upper Chalk in N, London Clay in S, largely overlain with superficial deposits of Boulder Clay and Sands and gravels in the valley. Predominantly rural, dominated by arable land, but with some urban development in valley u/s of station.
The station
'Essex' profile (modified Flat V Crump) weir with crest tapping.
How it measures flow
Prone to siltation. Flows are estimated when siltation severely affects response of station. Low modular limit - approx. 0.5m. No spillway.
Flow regime
Adjustments now needed for additions and abstractions.
Timing, not cause. Gauges can move together simply because the same rain fell on both.
Frequently asked questions
Is the River Colne at Earls Colne flooding today?
The current level is 0.15m, which is within the typical range of 0.04 to 1.14m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at Earls Colne?
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 Colne at Earls Colne?
The typical range at this station is 0.04m to 1.14m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.14m 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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