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Water Level Falling
Down from 0.13 at 20:00, now 0.10
0.10

Black Bull Road

Pent Stream
Stour catchment • Folkestone • Kent • ID: 1285SO • Level
(33m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 132 views

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⤴ Unusual rise — FloodRadar+Top 1% rise rate for this gauge.
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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
0.095 mASD
▼ Falling (-2cm/hr)
24h Max
0.136 mASD
24h Min
0.071 mASD
Typical Range
0.08 - 1.21
mASD
Highest Recorded
0.55 mASD
8 Nov 2019
Since Nov 2016
Current level is 17% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Rising · +2 cm over 5h
09 Oct 22:30 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.095 mASD
09 Oct 22:15 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.099 mASD
09 Oct 22:00 ▼ -0.5 cm 0.105 mASD
09 Oct 21:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.110 mASD
09 Oct 21:30 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.111 mASD
09 Oct 21:15 ▼ -1 cm 0.119 mASD
09 Oct 21:00 ▲ +0.7 cm 0.132 mASD
09 Oct 20:45 ▲ +4 cm 0.125 mASD
09 Oct 20:30 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.083 mASD
09 Oct 20:15 ▼ -0.6 cm 0.089 mASD
09 Oct 20:00 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.095 mASD
09 Oct 19:45 ▲ +2 cm 0.103 mASD
09 Oct 19:30 ▲ +0.9 cm 0.084 mASD
09 Oct 19:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.075 mASD
09 Oct 19:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.074 mASD
09 Oct 18:45 ▬ steady 0.075 mASD
09 Oct 18:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.075 mASD
09 Oct 18:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.074 mASD
09 Oct 18:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.075 mASD
09 Oct 17:30 0.074 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Black Bull Road
  • Watercourse: Pent Stream
  • Nearest Town: Folkestone
  • County: Kent
  • Coordinates: 51°5'8"N 1°10'40"E (51.085655, 1.177662)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 23 Oct 2015
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 1285SO
  • RLOI id: 9022 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 1285SO-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 4 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Stour
  • Datum: 13.694m AOD
  • Typical Range: 0.082 – 1.206 mASD
  • EA Cross-check: 0.10 mASD (EA at 9 Oct 22:15)

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.

Nearby

💧 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.

💧
Southern Water · into The English Channel · 1.7 km away in a straight line · discharges to the sea, an estuary or tidal water
19 spills · 79 hours in 2025
Status unknown — the live feed has not updated for 9 d 12 h
💧
Southern Water · into The English Channel · 1.7 km away in a straight line · discharges to the sea, an estuary or tidal water
5 spills · 3 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
Southern Water · into The English Channel · 1.7 km away in a straight line · discharges to the sea, an estuary or tidal water
37 spills · 172 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Sandgate Pumping Station🏊 Bathing water
Southern Water · into Controlled Sea · 2.7 km away in a straight line · discharges to the sea, an estuary or tidal water
1 spill · 2 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Sandgate Road Seabrook Wps🏊 Bathing water
Southern Water · into Strait Of Dover · 4.2 km away in a straight line · discharges to the sea, an estuary or tidal water
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

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 1.21 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 2016 for the 3 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.0 km away).

0flood warnings 8flood alerts

Most recent flood alert: 6 Jul 2025 — Pent Stream in Folkestone

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2025 0 1
2023 0 2
2021 0 1
2019 0 1
2017 0 1
2016 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 Folkestone flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 3 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Pent Stream at Black Bull Road flooding today?

The current level is 0.10m, which is within the typical range of 0.08 to 1.21m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Black Bull Road?

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.

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. Only about 5.8mm of rain has fallen nearby in the last 7 days, so the flow is being sustained mainly by groundwater. 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 Pent Stream at Black Bull Road?

The typical range at this station is 0.08m to 1.21m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.21m 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 →