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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 24.34 at 22:15, now 24.32
24.32

Morpeth

Wansbeck
Northumberland Rivers catchment • Morpeth • Northumberland • ID: 022017 • Level
(32m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 175 views

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Current Level
24.320 mAOD
▼ Easing
24h Max
24.358 mAOD
24h Min
24.320 mAOD
Typical Range
24.30 - 25.70
mAOD
Highest Recorded
28.05 mAOD
EA official record
28.05 in our data (since Jul 2002)
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 5h
08 Oct 05:15 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 05:00 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 04:45 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 04:30 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 04:00 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 03:45 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 03:30 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 03:15 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 03:00 ▬ steady 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 02:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 24.320 mAOD
08 Oct 02:30 ▬ steady 24.321 mAOD
08 Oct 02:15 ▬ steady 24.321 mAOD
08 Oct 02:00 ▬ steady 24.321 mAOD
08 Oct 01:45 ▬ steady 24.321 mAOD
08 Oct 01:30 ▬ steady 24.321 mAOD
08 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 24.322 mAOD
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 24.322 mAOD
08 Oct 00:45 ▬ steady 24.322 mAOD
08 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 24.322 mAOD
08 Oct 00:15 24.322 mAOD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Morpeth
  • Watercourse: River Wansbeck
  • Nearest Town: Morpeth
  • County: Northumberland
  • Nearest reservoir: Fontburn (17.1 km) · 98.5% full (as of 28 Dec 2025)
  • Coordinates: 55°10'3"N 1°41'40"W (55.167634, -1.694500)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Nov 2004
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 022017
  • RLOI id: 8293 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 022017-level-stage-i-15_min-mAOD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mAOD
  • 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: 24.300 – 25.700 mAOD
  • EA Cross-check: 24.32 mAOD (EA at 8 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

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.

💧
Northumbrian Water · into Tributary Of The Bothal Burn · 3.7 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 Duddo Burn · 5.8 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
29 spills · 377 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

17 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 25.70 m on about 1 day. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 0 days
2024 2 days
2023 4 days
2022 1 day
2021 2 days
2020 0 days
2019 2 days
2018 1 day
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 2012 for the 6 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.1 km away).

12flood warnings 5flood 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
2024 0 1
2023 4 1
2016 5 0
2013 0 1
2012 3 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 Morpeth flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 6 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Wansbeck at Morpeth flooding today?

The current level is 24.32m, which is within the typical range of 24.30 to 25.70m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Morpeth?

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. Only about 0.0mm of rain has fallen nearby in the last 7 days, so the flow is being sustained mainly by groundwater. 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 Wansbeck at Morpeth?

The typical range at this station is 24.30m to 25.70m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 25.70m 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 →