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-0.28

Redbourn

Red ⚙ Structure
Colne (Upper) catchment • Redbourn • Hertfordshire • ID: 2816TH • Level
(33m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 136 views

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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
-0.283 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
-0.282 mASD
24h Min
-0.283 mASD
Typical Range
-0.25 - 0.80
mASD
Highest Recorded
0.99 mASD
EA official record
A 3.91 reading (16 Mar 2013) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Flood predictions aren't generated for lock / structure gauges — their levels are driven by gate operation, not by catchment rainfall, so the forecast models would have no skill here.

Recent Readings

Steady over 5h
10 Oct 14:00 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 13:45 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 13:30 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 13:15 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 13:00 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 12:45 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 12:30 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 12:15 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 12:00 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 11:45 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 11:30 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 11:15 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 11:00 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 10:45 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 10:30 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 10:15 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 10:00 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 09:45 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 09:30 ▬ steady -0.283 mASD
10 Oct 09:15 -0.283 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Redbourn
  • Watercourse: River Red
  • Nearest Town: Redbourn
  • County: Hertfordshire
  • Coordinates: 51°47'35"N 0°23'48"W (51.793132, -0.396615)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1992
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 2816TH
  • RLOI id: 7181 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 2816TH-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 5 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: ⚙ Yes — lock, weir, sluice or pump
  • Catchment Area: Colne (Upper)
  • Typical Range: -0.247 – 0.800 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 19 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 7 Oct (3 days behind — the EA publishes each day's mean a day or two after it ends; unchecked, provisional) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: -0.28 mASD (EA at 10 Oct 13:45)
  • 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.

Nearby

Rainfall & Weather

Loading rainfall and weather data...

How often this river runs high

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

2026 0 days so far
2025 0 days
2024 0 days
2023 0 days
2022 0 days
2021 0 days
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 2021 for the 9 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.5 km away).

1flood warning 9flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 14 Jan 2021 — River Gade at Frogmore End

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2024 0 7
2021 1 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 Redbourn flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 9 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 1 more

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
0.64
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
739 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +5% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
9.2%
partly urbanised
Highest Daily Mean Flow
0.821 m³/s
18 Jun 2021 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.0420.1360.0245% (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 5%Grassland 22%Arable 58%Urban 15%
Arable 65% → 58% since 1990

Flow affected by: effluent returns.

About this gauge

Gauging station located on the upper River Ver that was initially constructed to monitor low flows.

More detail

The catchment

A predominantly rural catchment on the dip-slope of the Chilterns (Chalk); land-use is mainly arable/pasture; some urban development.

The station

Flat-V weir (4.0m wide) which frequently drowns.

How it measures flow

Upstream and downstream measurements are routinely made. Downstream reach regularly maintained by dredging which improves modularity. Built in an over wide channel which has naturally narrowed over the years. Silt berms have built up on left bank up to the weir. Downstream channel also has narrowed, during high flow events the level backs up and drowns the weir.

Flow regime

Groundwater-fed intermittent stream (but can be responsive).

The flow record

Flow data for Feb 1995 unreliable due to weed growth.

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
1993
Station datum
92.1 mAOD
Flow record
1993–2024 · 31 yrs · 100% complete
Hydrometric area
39
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Red at Redbourn flooding today?

The current level is -0.28m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Redbourn?

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 Red at Redbourn?

The typical range at this station is -0.25m 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.

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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 →