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0.12

Hartford Bridge

Blyth
Northumberland Rivers catchment • Hartford Bridge • Northumberland • ID: 022006 • Level
(21m ago) • 2 readings/hr • 152 views

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Current Level
0.124 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.156 m
24h Min
0.115 m
Typical Range
0.11 - 0.55
m
Highest Recorded
2.46 m
EA official record
1.76 in our data (since Mar 1963)
Current level is 5% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 6h
08 Oct 16:45 ▬ steady 0.124 m
08 Oct 16:15 ▬ steady 0.124 m
08 Oct 15:45 ▬ steady 0.124 m
08 Oct 15:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.124 m
08 Oct 15:15 ▬ steady 0.125 m
08 Oct 14:45 ▬ steady 0.125 m
08 Oct 14:30 ▬ steady 0.125 m
08 Oct 14:00 ▬ steady 0.125 m
08 Oct 13:45 ▬ steady 0.125 m
08 Oct 13:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.125 m
08 Oct 13:00 ▬ steady 0.126 m
08 Oct 12:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.126 m
08 Oct 12:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.125 m
08 Oct 12:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.126 m
08 Oct 12:00 ▬ steady 0.125 m
08 Oct 11:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.125 m
08 Oct 11:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.126 m
08 Oct 11:15 ▬ steady 0.125 m
08 Oct 11:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.125 m
08 Oct 10:45 0.124 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Hartford Bridge
  • Watercourse: River Blyth
  • Nearest Town: Hartford Bridge
  • County: Northumberland
  • Nearest reservoir: Whittle Dene (21.4 km) · 71.0% full (as of 28 Dec 2025)
  • Coordinates: 55°6'50"N 1°37'14"W (55.113789, -1.620587)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 16 Mar 1963
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 022006
  • RLOI id: 8291 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 022006-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 1 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Northumberland Rivers
  • Typical Range: 0.112 – 0.550 m
  • Drainage Area: 269 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 6 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: 0.12 m (EA at 8 Oct 16:15)
  • 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

Nearby

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.

12 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 16.4 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 12 report not discharging.

💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Pont · 16.4 km upstream along the river
38 spills · 244 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 16.9 km upstream along the river
47 spills · 511 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 16.9 km upstream along the river
1 spill · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 17.4 km upstream along the river
48 spills · 223 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Ogle Burn · 17.6 km upstream along the river
5 spills · 22 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 18.4 km upstream along the river
29 spills · 103 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 19.4 km upstream along the river
24 spills · 61 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into How Burn · 21.1 km upstream along the river
14 spills · 91 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

4 more further upstream, up to 30.1 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.

💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Blyth · 10 m away in a straight line · too close to the gauge to say which side
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Trib Of Pegwhistle Burn · 2.0 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into The Horton Burn (R Blyth) · 2.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
11 spills · 48 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Blyth, Tributary Of · 2.3 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
3 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Unnamed Trib Sleek Burn · 3.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
2 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Catraw Burn (Blyth) · 3.1 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
32 spills · 542 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Green Letch · 3.3 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
9 spills · 3 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Blyth · 4.1 km away in a straight line · discharges into a tidal reach, where the water moves both ways
26 spills · 36 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

14 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

6 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 0.55 m on about 30 days. This year so far: 26 days.

2026 26 days, 2 of them high · 2 high so far
2025 19 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2024 39 days, 8 of them high · 8 high
2023 54 days, 10 of them high · 10 high
2022 15 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2021 39 days, 10 of them high · 10 high
2020 20 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2019 42 days, 4 of them high · 4 high
2018 25 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2017 21 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 0.95 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 8 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 5.9 km away).

15flood warnings 0flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 20 Oct 2023 — River Pont at Kirkley Mill, Fox Covert Lane, Darras Hall and Prestwick Carr

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2023 4 0
2016 5 0
2013 3 0
2012 3 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 Hartford Bridge flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 8 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Flashy Rain runs off fast — levels rise and fall sharply, often within hours of heavy rain.

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
0.33
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
743 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +2% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
1.0%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
53.23 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
138 m³/s
6 Sep 2008 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 2.188.460.8120.1365% (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 6%Grassland 49%Arable 41%Urban 4%Other 1%
Arable 46% → 41% since 1990

Flow affected by: public water supply, effluent returns.

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

Velocity area station with flat V weir. Weir modified to prevent sedimentation in 1978.

More detail

The catchment

Mostly low-lying, moderate-permeability catchment (Millstone Grit and Coal Measures), with around four fifths of the catchment covered by boulder clay. Mixed arable and grassland. No known catchment changes.

The station

Velocity area station, with flat V weir (24.3m wide) for low flow control installed in 1968. Distance between wing walls was reduced to 20.0m in November 1978 to prevent sedimentation, and walls raised from 1.0m to 1.5m. Located on a straight section with stony bed, just u/s of a rock rapid. Two downstream pre-barrages constructed in 2014 to improve fish passage over the structure, eel tiles added at the same time.

How it measures flow

Three ratings applied across period of record, the most recent is valid from November 1978 when weir modifications necessitated a rating change. Flood Studies Report grade A1. No change required following fish passage improvements.

Flow regime

Small net export of water as the majority of runoff from headwaters of River Pont (approx 25.8 sqkm) is diverted to Whittle Dene reservoirs.

The flow record

No bypassing except in flood events of December 1978 and March 1979, although over-topped at high flows. Flows 19/09/2014-06/10/2014 affected by fish pass installation. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2019 (WINFAP Files v8).

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
1966
Station datum
24.6 mAOD
Flow record
1966–2024 · 58 yrs · 99% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1960
Hydrometric area
22
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Blyth at Hartford Bridge flooding today?

The current level is 0.12m, which is within the typical range of 0.11 to 0.55m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Hartford Bridge?

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 Blyth at Hartford Bridge?

The typical range at this station is 0.11m 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 →