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Water Level Falling
Down from 0.69 at 06:45, now 0.65
0.65

Pioneer Mills

Irwell
Northern Manchester catchment • Radcliffe • Greater Manchester • ID: 690250 • Level
(34m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 144 views

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Current Level
0.651 m
▼ Falling (-1cm/hr)
24h Max
1.393 m
24h Min
0.641 m
Typical Range
0.36 - 3.70
m
Highest Recorded
5.92 m
EA official record
5.92 in our data (since Jan 2011)
Current level is 11% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Rising · +0.4 cm over 5h
10 Oct 09:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.651 m
10 Oct 09:30 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.650 m
10 Oct 09:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.656 m
10 Oct 09:00 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.659 m
10 Oct 08:45 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.665 m
10 Oct 08:30 ▼ -1 cm 0.673 m
10 Oct 08:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.684 m
10 Oct 08:00 ▼ -0.9 cm 0.683 m
10 Oct 07:45 ▬ steady 0.692 m
10 Oct 07:30 ▲ +2 cm 0.692 m
10 Oct 07:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.675 m
10 Oct 07:00 ▲ +1 cm 0.677 m
10 Oct 06:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.665 m
10 Oct 06:30 ▲ +0.7 cm 0.664 m
10 Oct 06:15 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.657 m
10 Oct 06:00 ▲ +0.9 cm 0.654 m
10 Oct 05:45 ▼ -0.9 cm 0.645 m
10 Oct 05:30 ▲ +1 cm 0.654 m
10 Oct 05:15 ▼ -0.5 cm 0.642 m
10 Oct 05:00 0.647 m

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 690250
  • RLOI id: 5230 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 690250-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 5 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Northern Manchester
  • Typical Range: 0.362 – 3.700 m
  • EA Cross-check: 0.65 m (EA at 10 Oct 09:45)

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 upstream

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

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.

102 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 2.2 km away along the river. 1 reports discharging now, 95 report not discharging, and for 6 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
United Utilities · into River Irwell · 2.2 km upstream along the river
38 spills · 143 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Irwell · 2.2 km upstream along the river
57 spills · 617 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Irwell · 2.6 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Irwell · 2.7 km upstream along the river
5 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Irwell Via Culvert · 3.6 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
Reaches the river through a sewer, so where it enters is approximate.
💧
United Utilities · into River Irwell · 5.5 km upstream along the river
3 spills · 7 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Irwell · 5.9 km upstream along the river
51 spills · 123 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Barn Brook · 6.2 km upstream along the river
49 spills · 71 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

94 more further upstream, up to 33.3 km away along the river.

Also discharging now further upstream: Rochdale WwTW (16.9 km).

Nearby, connection not known

Within 6 km in a straight line, but the river map cannot say whether their water passes this gauge.

💧
United Utilities · into River Irwell Via Surface Water Sewer · 10 m away in a straight line · too close to the gauge to say which side
6 spills · 11 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Unnamed Trib Of River Irwell · 10 m away in a straight line · too close to the gauge to say which side
19 spills · 133 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Manchester, Bolton And Bury Canal · 1.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
7 spills · 12 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into River Tame · 1.7 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Parr Brook Via Sws · 1.7 km away in a straight line · reaches the river through a sewer or culvert
32 spills · 76 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Parr Brook · 1.9 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
18 spills · 10 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Park Lane D/S Of S.w.🏊 Bathing water
United Utilities · into Unknown · 2.5 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Trib Bradley Brook Via Sws · 2.5 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
31 spills · 158 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

32 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

36 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 3.70 m on about 1 day. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 1 day
2024 3 days
2023 0 days
2022 1 day
2021 1 day
2020 2 days
2019 2 days
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 2006 for the 24 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.5 km away).

51flood warnings 164flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 20 Sep 2025 — River Irwell from Buckley Wells to Radcliffe

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2025 14 8
2024 17 10
2023 0 13
2022 0 2
2021 2 10
2020 7 15
2019 0 17
2017 2 6
2016 0 5
2015 7 14
2014 0 3
2013 0 5
2012 2 18
2011 0 1
2010 0 4
2009 0 7
2008 0 18
2007 0 7
2006 0 1

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 Radcliffe flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 24 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 16 more

Rain upstream

This gauge has no rain model of its own, but it usually follows Littleborough: when about 6mm of rain falls near Littleborough in 6h, this gauge usually starts rising about 53 minutes later.

Recent rain upstream: 0.2mm/6h — below Littleborough's usual trigger.

Record: this held 5 of 8 times (live) · rain gauge: Rainfall station

Experimental, from historical rain and river data. Not an official flood warning.

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Irwell at Pioneer Mills flooding today?

The current level is 0.65m, which is within the typical range of 0.36 to 3.70m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Pioneer Mills?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling. 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 Irwell at Pioneer Mills?

The typical range at this station is 0.36m to 3.70m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 3.70m 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 →