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Walkden The Reach

Whittle Brook
Upper Mersey catchment • Walkden • Greater Manchester • ID: 690341 • Level
(32m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 107 views

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⤴ Unusual rise — FloodRadar+Top 1% rise rate for this gauge.
You'll be notified when this gauge is rising more than 0.10 m/hr — a sign of rapidly increasing water levels.

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Current Level
0.059 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.089 m
24h Min
0.059 m
Typical Range
-
Highest Recorded
2.48 m
13 Jan 2024
Since Oct 2021
Current level is 2% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.3 cm over 5h
08 Oct 05:15 ▬ steady 0.059 m
08 Oct 05:00 ▬ steady 0.059 m
08 Oct 04:45 ▬ steady 0.059 m
08 Oct 04:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.059 m
08 Oct 04:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.060 m
08 Oct 03:45 ▬ steady 0.061 m
08 Oct 03:30 ▬ steady 0.061 m
08 Oct 03:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.061 m
08 Oct 03:00 ▬ steady 0.062 m
08 Oct 02:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.062 m
08 Oct 02:30 ▬ steady 0.061 m
08 Oct 02:15 ▬ steady 0.061 m
08 Oct 02:00 ▬ steady 0.061 m
08 Oct 01:45 ▬ steady 0.061 m
08 Oct 01:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.061 m
08 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 0.062 m
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.062 m
08 Oct 00:45 ▬ steady 0.062 m
08 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 0.062 m
08 Oct 00:15 0.062 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Walkden The Reach
  • Watercourse: Whittle Brook
  • Nearest Town: Walkden
  • County: Greater Manchester
  • Coordinates: 53°31'18"N 2°23'18"W (53.521675, -2.388383)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 21 Oct 2021
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 690341
  • RLOI id: 10453 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 690341-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 17 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Upper Mersey
  • EA Cross-check: 0.06 m (EA at 8 Oct 05:15)

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

Nearby

Distances by river: OS Open Rivers. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

💧 Storm overflows upstream of this gauge

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.

💧
United Utilities · into Worsley Brook · 520 m away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
19 spills · 27 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Ellen Brook Culvert · 970 m away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
26 spills · 77 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Trib Of Kempnough Brook Vi Sws · 1.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
2 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Singing Clough Brook · 2.0 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
5 spills · 13 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
United Utilities · into Tributary Of Ellen Brook · 2.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
26 spills · 51 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
United Utilities · into Culvrt Singing Clough Brook · 2.1 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
19 spills · 51 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
United Utilities · into Culvrt Singing Clough Brook · 2.1 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
26 spills · 86 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
United Utilities · into Little Hulton Stream · 2.2 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
12 spills · 3 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

85 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

2 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 1.66 m on about 1 day. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 0 days
2024 3 days
2023 0 days
2022 0 days
2021 0 days patchy data

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out, so a year marked patchy may have run high more often than shown.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2012 for the 12 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.8 km away).

20flood warnings 0flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 20 Sep 2025 — Worsley Brook at Alder Forest Bridge and the Cricket Grounds

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2025 4 0
2024 2 0
2023 1 0
2021 1 0
2020 1 0
2019 2 0
2015 2 0
2012 7 0

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 Walkden flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 12 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 4 more

Frequently asked questions

Is the Whittle Brook at Walkden The Reach flooding today?

The current level is 0.06m, which is within the typical range. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Walkden The Reach?

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.

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. 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 Whittle Brook at Walkden The Reach?

The typical range at this station is up to 1.66m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.66m 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 →