← Back
0.17

Hertford, Hartham Park

Beane
Beane catchment • Hertford • Hertfordshire • ID: 4890TH • Level
(54m ago) • 3 readings/hr • 162 views

Set water level alerts

Get notified about Hertford, Hartham Park — tick as many as you like, they all share the notify settings below.

1 person already gets alerts for this gauge.

⤴ Unusual rise — FloodRadar+Top 1% rise rate for this gauge.
Drag the line on the chart, or type a value: mASD
Quick pick:

Each one is saved as its own alert — pause or remove them individually any time.

Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms

Current Level
0.169 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.173 mASD
24h Min
0.167 mASD
Typical Range
0.13 - 0.80
mASD
Highest Recorded
1.54 mASD
EA official record
1.54 in our data (since Oct 1981)
Current level is 11% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.2 cm over 7h
10 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
10 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
10 Oct 00:45 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
10 Oct 00:15 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 23:30 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 22:30 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 22:15 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 22:00 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 21:30 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 21:15 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 21:00 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 20:45 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 20:15 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 20:00 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 19:45 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 19:30 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 19:15 ▬ steady 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 19:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.169 mASD
09 Oct 18:45 0.171 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Hertford, Hartham Park
  • Watercourse: River Beane
  • Nearest Town: Hertford
  • County: Hertfordshire
  • Coordinates: 51°48'4"N 0°4'47"W (51.801234, -0.079759)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1981
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 4890TH
  • RLOI id: 7341 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 4890TH-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 2 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Beane
  • Typical Range: 0.127 – 0.800 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 175 km² upstream of this gauge
  • 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
  • EA Cross-check: 0.17 mASD (EA at 10 Oct 01:15)
  • Flow Archive: National River Flow Archive ↗

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

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.

💧
Thames Water · into Harmonds Brook West Arm · 4.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
46 spills · 518 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

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

This gauge rarely reaches its typical high of 0.80 m: 3 days since 2017. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 0 days
2024 2 days
2023 0 days
2022 0 days
2021 1 day
2020 0 days
2019 0 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 2009 for the 8 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.3 km away).

1flood warning 39flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 7 Feb 2014 — River Beane at Hertford

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 4
2025 0 2
2024 0 12
2023 0 1
2021 0 2
2020 0 3
2017 0 1
2016 0 2
2015 0 1
2014 1 4
2013 0 2
2012 0 3
2009 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 Hertford flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 8 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Mixed response A 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
0.54
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
653 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +2% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
7.3%
partly urbanised
Highest Daily Mean Flow
19.00 m³/s
13 Oct 1993 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.5871.380.4580.1875% (high)% of days exceeded95% (low)
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 32%Arable 46%Urban 14%
Arable 59% → 46% since 1990

Flow affected by: public water supply, groundwater abstraction.

Photos

Gauging-station photographs from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH).

Photos © NRFA / UKCEH & the measuring authority — shown at web resolution. Full gallery on the NRFA ↗

About this gauge

The station is located in the lower River Beane within the River Lee catchment.

More detail

The catchment

Solid geology: Chalk substantially overlain by boulder clay, glacial sands and gravel. Mainly rural but contains Stevenage, also moderate urban development close to the catchment outfall.

The station

Flat V weir, 8m wide.

How it measures flow

All flows are contained. Modular throughout the flow range; theoretical calibration adopted.

Flow regime

Substantial baseflow but the Drift cover (and urban areas) provide a rapid runoff response to storms. Significant gw abstractions (particularly in the headwaters); moderate net export of water.

Descriptions from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH). NRFA station record ↗

Gauge Details

How this gauging station is built and how long it has measured (NRFA / UKCEH).

Gauge type
Flat-V weir
Operating since
1979
Station datum
35.4 mAOD
Flow record
1979–2024 · 45 yrs · 100% complete
Hydrometric area
38
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Beane at Hertford, Hartham Park flooding today?

The current level is 0.17m, which is within the typical range of 0.13 to 0.80m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Hertford, Hartham Park?

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 River Beane at Hertford, Hartham Park?

The typical range at this station is 0.13m to 0.80m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.80m 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.

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:

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 →