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Water Level Rising Slightly
Up 0.02 m since 22:45, rising slightly
0.87

Farmoor

Thames
Cotswolds catchment • Farmoor • Oxfordshire • ID: 1100TH • Level
(24m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 228 views

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Current Level
0.874 mASD
▲ Rising slightly
24h Max
0.874 mASD
24h Min
0.854 mASD
Typical Range
0.50 - 1.30
mASD
Highest Recorded
2.01 mASD
EA official record
A 3.69 reading (15 May 2025) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
Current level is 44% of this
Current Flow
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🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Rising · +0.8 cm over 5h
09 Oct 07:30 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.874 mASD
09 Oct 07:15 ▬ steady 0.871 mASD
09 Oct 07:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.871 mASD
09 Oct 06:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.873 mASD
09 Oct 06:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.872 mASD
09 Oct 06:15 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.873 mASD
09 Oct 06:00 ▬ steady 0.871 mASD
09 Oct 05:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.871 mASD
09 Oct 05:30 ▬ steady 0.870 mASD
09 Oct 05:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.870 mASD
09 Oct 05:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.869 mASD
09 Oct 04:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.867 mASD
09 Oct 04:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.870 mASD
09 Oct 04:15 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.869 mASD
09 Oct 04:00 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.866 mASD
09 Oct 03:45 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.869 mASD
09 Oct 03:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.866 mASD
09 Oct 03:15 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.867 mASD
09 Oct 03:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.865 mASD
09 Oct 02:45 0.866 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Farmoor
  • Watercourse: River Thames
  • Nearest Town: Farmoor
  • County: Oxfordshire
  • Nearest reservoir: Farmoor (0.9 km) · 76.0% full (as of 31 Aug 2026)
  • Coordinates: 51°45'27"N 1°21'59"W (51.757544, -1.366384)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1991
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 1100TH
  • RLOI id: 7047 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 1100TH-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 2 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Cotswolds
  • Typical Range: 0.500 – 1.300 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 1,609 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 7 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: 0.87 mASD (EA at 9 Oct 07:15)
  • 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

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.

17 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 10.3 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 17 report not discharging.

💧
Thames Water · into Windrush · 10.3 km upstream along the river
98 spills · 2,214 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Shill Brook · 18.2 km upstream along the river
82 spills · 926 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Shill Brook · 24.3 km upstream along the river
25 spills · 404 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Faringdon Brook · 29.1 km upstream along the river
50 spills · 159 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.
💧
Thames Water · into River Leach · 36.0 km upstream along the river
11 spills · 161 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into River Coln · 45.3 km upstream along the river
107 spills · 2,235 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Trib Of Bydemill Brook/Land · 50.9 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Tributary Of The River Thames · 53.8 km upstream along the river
59 spills · 641 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

9 more further upstream, up to 67.2 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.

💧
Thames Water · into Limb Brook · 4.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
49 spills · 927 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Seacourt Stream · 4.8 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
10 spills · 40 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

In a typical year this gauge reaches its typical high of 1.30 m on about 12 days. This year so far: 28 days.

2026 28 days, 8 of them high · 8 high so far
2025 6 days
2024 39 days, 16 of them high · 16 high
2023 19 days, 3 of them high · 3 high
2022 0 days
2021 15 days, 4 of them high · 4 high
2020 19 days
2019 10 days
2018 3 days
2017 0 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 1.61 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2008 for the 9 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.4 km away).

44flood warnings 158flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 29 Nov 2024 — River Thames and tributaries at New Botley, New Hinksey, North Hinksey, South Hinksey and Grandpont

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 20
2025 0 8
2024 10 17
2023 2 19
2022 0 4
2021 4 5
2020 5 8
2019 0 10
2018 0 7
2017 0 4
2016 1 10
2015 0 2
2014 12 1
2013 0 10
2012 10 10
2011 0 1
2010 0 8
2009 0 7
2008 0 7

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 Farmoor flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 9 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 1 more

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
0.69
groundwater-fed — slow & steady
Avg Annual Rainfall
798 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +5% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
2.7%
largely rural
Highest Daily Mean Flow
74.10 m³/s
15 Jan 1994 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 15.5954.009.470.9755% (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 8%Grassland 44%Arable 39%Urban 8%Other 2%
Arable 47% → 39% since 1990

Flow affected by: public water supply.

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

Ultrasonic gauging station located on the main River Thames, downstream of the intake for Farmoor Reservoir.

More detail

The catchment

Catchment is predominantly rural u/s of the station. The geology is mixed - pervious headwaters (Oolitic l'st), Oxford Clay in the lower reaches.

The station

Multi-path cross-configuration US.

How it measures flow

Substantial left-bank by-passing (not via the Thames itself) under flood conditions.

Flow regime

Levels affected by d/s gate movements, abstractions and lockages.

The flow record

Drought flow accuracy uncertain (at very low velocities) and gaugings suggest that flows may be overestimated by around 5%. Naturalised flows not routinely calculated.

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
Ultrasonic
Operating since
1992
Station datum
60.0 mAOD
Flow record
1992–2024 · 32 yrs · 99% complete
Hydrometric area
39
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Thames at Farmoor flooding today?

The current level is 0.87m, which is within the typical range of 0.50 to 1.30m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Farmoor?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently rising 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 Thames at Farmoor?

The typical range at this station is 0.50m to 1.30m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.30m 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 →