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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from -0.19 at 15:00, now -0.22
-0.22

West Ayton

Derwent
Derwent catchment • East Ayton • North Yorkshire • ID: F2708 • Level
(28m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 159 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
-0.218 m
▼ Easing
24h Max
-0.172 m
24h Min
-0.218 m
Typical Range
0.06 - 0.55
m
Highest Recorded
0.64 m
EA official record
0.66 in our data (since Apr 1972)
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -1 cm over 6h
11 Oct 00:15 ▬ steady -0.218 m
11 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 23:30 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 22:30 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 22:15 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 22:00 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 21:45 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 21:30 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 21:15 ▬ steady -0.218 m
10 Oct 21:00 ▼ -0.1 cm -0.218 m
10 Oct 20:45 ▼ -0.2 cm -0.217 m
10 Oct 20:30 ▼ -0.1 cm -0.215 m
10 Oct 20:15 ▼ -0.2 cm -0.214 m
10 Oct 20:00 ▼ -0.1 cm -0.212 m
10 Oct 19:45 ▼ -0.2 cm -0.211 m
10 Oct 19:30 ▼ -0.1 cm -0.209 m
10 Oct 19:15 ▼ -0.1 cm -0.208 m
10 Oct 19:00 ▼ -0.1 cm -0.207 m
10 Oct 18:45 -0.206 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: West Ayton
  • Watercourse: River Derwent
  • Nearest Town: East Ayton
  • County: North Yorkshire
  • Coordinates: 54°15'4"N 0°29'4"W (54.251128, -0.484316)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1967
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: F2708
  • RLOI id: 8214 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: F2708-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 3 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Derwent
  • Typical Range: 0.064 – 0.550 m
  • Drainage Area: 127 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 9 Oct (1 day behind — the EA publishes each day's mean a day or two after it ends; unchecked, provisional) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: -0.22 m (EA at 11 Oct 00:15)
  • 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

Nearby

Distances by river: OS Open Rivers. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

💧 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.

💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tributary Of Black Dike · 4.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
5 spills · 8 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Hertford Via Ditch · 4.9 km away in a straight line · reaches the river through a sewer or culvert
96 spills · 686 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Glynndale Drive Tank Sewer🏊 Bathing water
Yorkshire Water · into Sea Cut (Scalby Beck) · 5.5 km away in a straight line · discharges to the sea, an estuary or tidal water
5 spills · 12 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Culverted Trib River Hertford · 5.6 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
29 spills · 127 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Scalby Beck - North Sea · 5.9 km away in a straight line · discharges to the sea, an estuary or tidal water
19 spills · 246 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

3 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

This gauge rarely reaches its typical high of 0.55 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 2010 for the 7 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.8 km away).

135flood warnings 240flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 18 Feb 2026 — North Sea at Scarborough - Sandside

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 8 4
2025 0 2
2024 6 9
2023 12 12
2022 12 12
2021 18 19
2020 20 20
2019 9 11
2018 6 18
2017 10 19
2016 3 17
2015 1 19
2014 9 16
2013 14 18
2012 4 23
2011 2 13
2010 1 8

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 East Ayton flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 7 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Fairly flashy Responds fairly quickly to rain, with moderate baseflow between events.

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
0.47
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
876 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +4% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.1%
largely rural
Highest Daily Mean Flow
5.10 m³/s
5 Jan 2004 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.5091.420.3650.0335% (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 48%Grassland 26%Arable 8%Heath/scrub 18%

Flow affected by: public water supply, groundwater abstraction.

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

Compound thin-plate weir. Flows diverted to the Sea Cut (measured at 27033) at high flows.

More detail

The catchment

Jurassic Sandstone, Limestone and Shales. Predominantly rural catchment with substantial (just under half) forest cover. No known catchment changes.

The station

Compound thin-plate weir, 11m wide in total, central notch is 3m wide.

How it measures flow

Large drop over weir should exclude drowning. Theoretical daily and peak flow rating with check gaugings. Flood Studies Report grade A1.

Flow regime

Catchment contains swallow holes; significant losses between 27048 and a nearby u/s monitoring site (Forge Valley). Flow from 70% of the catchment area can be diverted to the Sea Cut at a diversion structure approx 5km upstream (measured at 27033). Flow can drop suddenly when the diversion structure is operated and peak flows are not representative of the full catchment response as a result. Normal operation is for the sluice to be open and all flow to pass down the Derwent.

The flow record

Various periods of missing data throughout 2010 and 2011 a result of issues with the stilling well and a bank collapse. Missing data caused by silting also occurred during 2013 and 2014. Periods of missing data during 2019/2020 due to issues with the stilling well and sensor.

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
Gauging structure
Operating since
1972
Station datum
34.2 mAOD
Flow record
1967–2024 · 57 yrs · 95% complete
Hydrometric area
27
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Derwent at West Ayton flooding today?

The current level is -0.22m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at West Ayton?

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.

What is a normal level for the River Derwent at West Ayton?

The typical range at this station is 0.06m to 0.55m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.55m 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 →