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0.07

Colsterworth

Witham
Witham catchment • Woolsthorpe-By-Colsterworth • Lincolnshire • ID: E1652 • Level
(34m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 145 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
0.072 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.075 mASD
24h Min
0.072 mASD
Typical Range
0.08 - 0.77
mASD
Highest Recorded
1.62 mASD
EA official record
1.60 in our data (since Nov 1979)
Current level is 4% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 5h
10 Oct 09:45 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 09:30 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 09:15 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 09:00 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 08:45 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 08:30 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 08:00 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 07:45 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 07:30 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 07:15 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 07:00 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 06:45 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 06:30 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 06:15 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 06:00 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 05:45 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 05:30 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 05:15 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 05:00 ▬ steady 0.072 mASD
10 Oct 04:45 0.072 mASD

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E1652
  • RLOI id: 6051 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E1652-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Witham
  • Typical Range: 0.082 – 0.770 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 51 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: 0.07 mASD (EA at 10 Oct 09:45)
  • 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.

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.

1 storm overflow is traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 4.7 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 1 reports not discharging.

💧
Anglian Water · into The River Witham · 4.7 km upstream along the river
3 spills · 15 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

1 other overflow within 6 km is downstream of this gauge or on another branch of the river network, so it is 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 0.77 m on about 1 day. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 1 day
2024 2 days
2023 2 days
2022 0 days
2021 3 days
2020 2 days
2019 2 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 2007 for the 1 flood area linked to this gauge (nearest 3.0 km away).

8flood warnings 0flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 6 Jan 2025 — River Witham in North Witham

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2025 1 0
2024 1 0
2023 1 0
2016 2 0
2013 1 0
2008 1 0
2007 1 0

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 Woolsthorpe-By-Colsterworth flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. This is the area linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Groundwater-fed Slow and steady — fed largely by groundwater, so levels change gradually, not in sudden spikes.

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
0.66
groundwater-fed — slow & steady
Avg Annual Rainfall
690 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +6% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
2.6%
largely rural
Highest Daily Mean Flow
6.50 m³/s
15 Aug 1980 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.2230.8250.1000.0195% (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 4%Grassland 24%Arable 67%Urban 5%Other 1%

Flow affected by: reservoir influence.

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

Gauging a rural catchment underlain by limestone, heavy artificial augmentation of flows until 1985.

More detail

The catchment

Rural catchment underlain by l'st and with some Boulder Clay cover.

The station

Flat V weir 4.996m wide. Removed from peak flows dataset in September 2023 (WINFAP Files v12).

How it measures flow

Theoretical calibration.

Flow regime

Summer flows very heavily augmented by transfers from Rutland Water until Jun 1985, when direct Rutland/Saltersford pipeline opened.

The flow record

Low flows in summer 1994 are suspect.

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
1978
Station datum
87.0 mAOD
Flow record
1978–2024 · 46 yrs · 100% complete
Hydrometric area
30
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Witham at Colsterworth flooding today?

The current level is 0.07m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Colsterworth?

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 Witham at Colsterworth?

The typical range at this station is 0.08m to 0.77m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.77m 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 →