← Back
Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.14 at 21:45, now 0.13
0.13

Chafford

Medway
Medway catchment • Fordcombe • Kent • ID: E1541 • Level
(31m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 114 views

Set water level alerts

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

⤴ 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
0.126 mASD
▼ Easing
24h Max
0.144 mASD
24h Min
0.101 mASD
Typical Range
0.15 - 2.50
mASD
Highest Recorded
3.53 mASD
EA official record
3.53 in our data (since Mar 1968)
Current level is 4% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -2 cm over 5h
10 Oct 05:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.126 mASD
10 Oct 05:00 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.129 mASD
10 Oct 04:45 ▲ +1.0 cm 0.126 mASD
10 Oct 04:30 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.116 mASD
10 Oct 04:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.113 mASD
10 Oct 04:00 ▬ steady 0.112 mASD
10 Oct 03:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.112 mASD
10 Oct 03:30 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.114 mASD
10 Oct 03:15 ▼ -0.7 cm 0.118 mASD
10 Oct 03:00 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.125 mASD
10 Oct 02:45 ▬ steady 0.133 mASD
10 Oct 02:30 ▲ +1 cm 0.133 mASD
10 Oct 02:15 ▲ +0.7 cm 0.121 mASD
10 Oct 02:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.114 mASD
10 Oct 01:45 ▬ steady 0.113 mASD
10 Oct 01:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.113 mASD
10 Oct 01:15 ▼ -0.5 cm 0.115 mASD
10 Oct 01:00 ▼ -1 cm 0.120 mASD
10 Oct 00:45 ▼ -1 cm 0.132 mASD
10 Oct 00:30 0.143 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Chafford
  • Watercourse: River Medway
  • Nearest Town: Fordcombe
  • County: Kent
  • Nearest reservoir: Bough Beech Reservoir (8.0 km) · 48.2% full (as of 10 Oct 2026)
  • Coordinates: 51°8'40"N 0°10'6"E (51.144544, 0.168468)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 23 Mar 1968
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E1541
  • RLOI id: 1066 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E1541-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 11 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Medway
  • Typical Range: 0.147 – 2.500 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 252 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: 0.13 mASD (EA at 10 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 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

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.

18 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 500 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 17 report not discharging, and for 1 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
Southern Water · into The River Medway · 500 m upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The River Grom · 6.9 km upstream along the river
50 spills · 167 hours in 2025
Status unknown — the live feed has not updated for 9 d 18 h
💧
Southern Water · into The River Grom · 6.9 km upstream along the river
52 spills · 536 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into River Grom · 6.9 km upstream along the river
21 spills · 199 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Kent Water · 7.0 km upstream along the river
47 spills · 506 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Tributary Of The River Medway · 9.4 km upstream along the river
30 spills · 312 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The River Grom · 13.0 km upstream along the river
16 spills · 16 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into River Medway · 13.0 km upstream along the river
20 spills · 233 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

10 more further upstream, up to 28.5 km away along the river.

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 A Trib Of The River Medway · 570 m away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
21 spills · 99 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Trib Of Barden Mill Stream · 3.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
4 spills · 2 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Tributary Of Barden Stream · 3.4 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
19 spills · 28 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The Hurstwood Stream · 5.5 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
9 spills · 8 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Trib Of The River Medway · 5.6 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
37 spills · 88 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Barden Mill Stream · 5.9 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
37 spills · 37 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · 5.9 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
1 spill · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Trib Of River Eden · 5.9 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
6 spills · 26 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

4 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 2.50 m on about 9 days. This year so far: 9 days.

2026 9 days, 5 of them high · 5 high so far
2025 7 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
2024 18 days, 12 of them high · 12 high
2023 13 days, 8 of them high · 8 high
2022 13 days, 9 of them high · 9 high
2021 7 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2020 14 days, 12 of them high · 12 high
2019 10 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
2018 0 days
2017 2 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 2.99 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2012 for the 5 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 3.6 km away).

27flood warnings 115flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 16 Jan 2026 — River Medway between Forest Row and Penshurst

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 1 7
2025 1 5
2024 3 13
2023 0 15
2022 2 9
2021 2 8
2020 4 13
2019 3 9
2018 0 2
2017 0 4
2016 0 9
2015 1 1
2014 7 8
2013 2 3
2012 1 9

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 Fordcombe flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 5 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Rain upstream

This gauge has no rain model of its own, but it usually follows Hadlow: when about 6mm of rain falls near Hadlow in 6h, this gauge usually starts rising about 2 hours later.

Recent rain upstream: 0mm/6h — below Hadlow's usual trigger.

Record: this held 14 of 18 times (past storms) · rain gauge: Rainfall station

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

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Medway at Chafford flooding today?

The current level is 0.13m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Chafford?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling slightly. 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 River Medway at Chafford?

The typical range at this station is 0.15m to 2.50m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 2.50m 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 →