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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 mASD/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 data and are best-efforts. Terms
Current Level
-0.027 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
-0.026 mASD
24h Min
-0.034 mASD
Typical Range
0.05 - 1.45
mASD
Highest Recorded
2.18 mASD
30 Oct 2000
Since Jan 1982
🚽Sewage overflows nearby
Recent Water Levels
🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day
Prediction V2
Prediction Eris
Nimbus beta
Experimental model fusing soil moisture, river flow, groundwater and catchment
character. Shown with its calibrated 10–90% confidence band. 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.
Long Term
🌍 floodradar.co.uk
—
Consecutive rainy days0 → 10+
Days Above Normal
This year vs 5-year monthly range
Recent Readings
Steady over 6h
23 Aug 23:00▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 22:45▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 21:30▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 21:15▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 21:00▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 20:45▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 20:30▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 20:15▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 20:00▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 19:45▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 19:30▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 19:15▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 19:00▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 18:45▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 18:30▬ steady-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 18:00▲ +0.1 cm-0.027 mASD
23 Aug 17:45▬ steady-0.028 mASD
23 Aug 17:30▬ steady-0.028 mASD
23 Aug 17:15▬ steady-0.028 mASD
23 Aug 17:00-0.028 mASD
Rainfall & Weather
Loading rainfall and weather data...
Flood history near this gauge
Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2011 for the 6 flood
areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.8 km away).
0flood warnings72flood alerts
Most recent flood alert:
16 Feb 2026
— Upper Roding
Year by year
Year
Warnings
Alerts
2026
0
4
2025
0
2
2024
0
6
2023
0
7
2022
0
2
2021
0
4
2020
0
5
2019
0
4
2017
0
2
2016
0
6
2014
0
12
2013
0
5
2012
0
11
2011
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 High Ongar flood history.
Geographic coordinates may reflect the access point for the gauge, and not the precise location in the watercourse that it is taking readings from.
Catchment Character
🌊 Fairly flashyResponds fairly quickly to rain, with moderate baseflow between events.
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
0.40
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
615 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +1% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.8%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
11.10 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Recorded Flow
14.30 m³/s
10 Feb 2009
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.
Highest flow gauging station on the River Roding. Essex modified Flat V weir that was superceded by Ultrasonic time of flight due to repeated drowning.
More detail
The catchment
Generally low lying, largely impermeable (London Clay/glacial deposits), agricultural catchment with some industrial land use.
The station
Ultrasonic time of flight in an 11m section. Ultrasonic replaced Essex weir rating in November 2012. Essex weir used to maintain head for measuring cross section. Used for both water resource and flood warning/forecasting purposes.
How it measures flow
Originally Essex weir superseded by Ultrasonic time of flight with the weir used to retain depth. Bypassing can also occur on both banks and can occur surprisingly quickly. Structure subject to drowning during high flows due to backwater effects from two d/s bridges. Heavy in-channel vegetation and surcharging of bridge soffit also influence drowning. Evidence that the modular limit has reduced over time due to the reduction in channel clearance and maintenance. Evidence of weir settlement discovered in 1991. Flows were corrected from 1987-91 to take account of this.
Flow regime
Responsive flow regime. Minimal net import into the catchment but flows are influenced by groundwater abstraction/recharge. Abstraction for industrial/agricultural purposes, particularly spray irrigation, can substantially deplete low flows.
The flow record
Levels can exceed bankfull and gauge is bypassed. Naturalised flows available between 1964 and 1976. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in August 2021 (WINFAP Files v10).
How this gauging station is built and how long it has measured (NRFA / UKCEH).
Gauge type
Ultrasonic
Operating since
1963
Station datum
41.0 mAOD
Flow record
1963–2024 · 61 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1963
Hydrometric area
37
Measured by
Environment Agency
Nearby Groundwater
Soil Moisture
Possible storm-overflow correlation
🚽 Storm overflows on this river
Frequently asked questions
Is the River Roding at High Ongar flooding today?
The current level is -0.03m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at High Ongar?
Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently steady. The chart above shows the last 7 days of measurements, updated roughly every 15 minutes.
What is a normal level for the River Roding at High Ongar?
The typical range at this station is 0.05m to 1.45m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.45m are higher than usually seen and may indicate a flood risk.
How often is this river level data updated?
Readings are taken by the Environment Agency gauge roughly every 15 minutes and FloodRadar refreshes its data continuously, so the level shown is normally less than an hour old.
Embed this gauge on your website
Free live river-level widget — ideal for parish councils, angling clubs and local sites. Updates automatically.
Preview
📮 Flood risk by postcode near this gauge
Postcodes within 5 km with properties in the Environment Agency’s rivers-and-sea flood-risk bands:
4 Dec 2020 View to station during high flow event, stage 1.359m
1 Sep 2020 View upstream to weir
12 May 2010 View downstream of weir
12 May 2010 View upstream to weir
View of weir looking u/s from LB during high flow
View of weir looking u/s from LB
