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1.13

Town Lock

Medway ⚙ Structure
Medway catchment • Tonbridge • Kent • ID: E1550 • Level
(26m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 160 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
1.131 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
1.137 mASD
24h Min
1.130 mASD
Typical Range
0.88 - 1.66
mASD
Highest Recorded
2.34 mASD
EA official record
A 3.60 reading (29 May 2015) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
Current level is 48% of this
🚽 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

Falling · -0.2 cm over 6h
11 Oct 03:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 1.131 mASD
11 Oct 02:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 1.130 mASD
11 Oct 02:30 ▬ steady 1.131 mASD
11 Oct 02:15 ▬ steady 1.131 mASD
11 Oct 01:30 ▬ steady 1.132 mASD
11 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 1.132 mASD
11 Oct 01:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 1.132 mASD
11 Oct 00:45 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
11 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
11 Oct 00:15 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
11 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
10 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
10 Oct 23:30 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
10 Oct 22:30 ▬ steady 1.134 mASD
10 Oct 22:15 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
10 Oct 22:00 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
10 Oct 21:45 ▬ steady 1.134 mASD
10 Oct 21:30 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
10 Oct 21:15 ▬ steady 1.133 mASD
10 Oct 21:00 1.133 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Town Lock
  • Watercourse: River Medway
  • Nearest Town: Tonbridge
  • County: Kent
  • Nearest reservoir: Bough Beech Reservoir (10.0 km) · 48.2% full (as of 10 Oct 2026)
  • Coordinates: 51°11'41"N 0°16'42"E (51.194615, 0.278452)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1993
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E1550
  • RLOI id: 1090 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E1550-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 1 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: Medway
  • Datum: 19.841m AOD
  • Typical Range: 0.882 – 1.660 mASD
  • EA Cross-check: 1.13 mASD (EA at 11 Oct 02:45)

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.

32 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 690 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 30 report not discharging, and for 2 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
Southern Water · into Tributary Of Hilden Brook · 690 m upstream along the river
4 spills · 17 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The Hilden Brook · 1.5 km upstream along the river
7 spills · 62 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The Hilden Brook · 4.9 km upstream along the river
19 spills · 233 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The River Medway · 5.3 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Status unknown — the live feed has not updated for 145 d 15 h
💧
Southern Water · into The Hilden Brook · 6.0 km upstream along the river
3 spills · 6 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Unnamed Dicth/Stream · 7.5 km upstream along the river
21 spills · 92 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.
💧
Southern Water · into River Medway · 9.2 km upstream along the river
61 spills · 350 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Barden Mill Stream · 14.7 km upstream along the river
17 spills · 126 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.

24 more further upstream, up to 43.1 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 The Somerhill Stream · 1.2 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
53 spills · 611 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Tributary Of The River Medway · 2.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
19 spills · 74 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into A Trib Of The River Medway · 2.8 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
Southern Water · into Tributary Of The Hilden Brook · 3.2 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
44 spills · 521 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
Southern Water · into Trib Of River Medway · 3.5 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
2 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into The Somerhill Stream · 3.9 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
6 spills · 25 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Southern Water · into Trib Of The River Medway · 4.5 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 · 4.6 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
1 spill · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

6 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

9 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 2 days
2024 0 days
2023 0 days
2022 2 days
2021 0 days
2020 3 days
2019 3 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 2014 for the 10 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 2.0 km away).

11flood warnings 102flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 27 Dec 2020 — Paddock Wood and Laddingford

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 7
2025 0 6
2024 0 17
2023 0 10
2022 0 6
2021 0 14
2020 5 16
2019 3 8
2018 0 3
2016 0 11
2015 2 2
2014 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 Tonbridge flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 10 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 2 more

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Medway at Town Lock flooding today?

The current level is 1.13m, which is within the typical range of 0.88 to 1.66m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Town Lock?

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 Medway at Town Lock?

The typical range at this station is 0.88m 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 →