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Water Level Falling
7.32

Long Load

Witcombe Bottom Main Drain
Parrett, Brue and West Somerset Streams catchment • Long Load • Somerset • ID: 52156 • Level
(43m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 149 views

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Current Level
7.319 mASD
▼ Falling (+4cm/hr)
24h Max
7.424 mASD
24h Min
7.286 mASD
Typical Range
6.65 - 8.44
mASD
Highest Recorded
10.64 mASD
EA official record
10.85 in our data (since Jan 1998)
Current level is 69% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -8 cm over 6h
08 Oct 22:30 ▲ +1 cm 7.319 mASD
08 Oct 22:15 ▲ +0.9 cm 7.308 mASD
08 Oct 22:00 ▼▼ -6 cm 7.299 mASD
08 Oct 21:45 ▼▼ -6 cm 7.361 mASD
08 Oct 21:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 7.423 mASD
08 Oct 21:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 7.421 mASD
08 Oct 20:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 7.420 mASD
08 Oct 20:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 7.419 mASD
08 Oct 20:15 ▬ steady 7.417 mASD
08 Oct 20:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 7.416 mASD
08 Oct 19:45 ▲ +0.2 cm 7.414 mASD
08 Oct 19:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 7.412 mASD
08 Oct 19:00 ▬ steady 7.411 mASD
08 Oct 18:45 ▲ +0.2 cm 7.410 mASD
08 Oct 18:30 ▲ +0.2 cm 7.408 mASD
08 Oct 18:15 ▲ +0.2 cm 7.406 mASD
08 Oct 17:45 ▲ +0.2 cm 7.404 mASD
08 Oct 17:15 ▲ +0.4 cm 7.402 mASD
08 Oct 17:00 ▬ steady 7.398 mASD
08 Oct 16:45 7.398 mASD

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 52156
  • RLOI id: 3398 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 52156-level-1-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: Parrett, Brue and West Somerset Streams
  • Datum: 0.000m AOD
  • Typical Range: 6.654 – 8.438 mASD
  • EA Cross-check: 7.33 mASD (EA at 8 Oct 22:45)

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 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

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.

💧
Wessex Water · into Crouds Lake · 1.6 km away in a straight line · discharges to a loch, lake or reservoir
54 spills · 989 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Wessex Water · into Trib. Of Kings Moor Main Drain · 2.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
14 spills · 194 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Wessex Water · into Trib Of Long Sutton Main Drain · 2.5 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
10 spills · 75 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Wessex Water · into Trib Of Witcombe Bottom Drain · 3.6 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
41 spills · 465 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Wessex Water · into Tributary Of The River Parrett · 3.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
20 spills · 77 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Wessex Water · into Tributary Of River Parrett (S) · 4.6 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
23 spills · 255 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Wessex Water · into Trib Of Hinton Meads Brook · 5.3 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
18 spills · 23 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
Wessex Water · into Millstream · 5.4 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
15 spills · 166 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

1 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

11 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 8.44 m on about 25 days. This year so far: 48 days.

2026 48 days, 27 of them high · 27 high so far
2025 36 days, 4 of them high · 4 high
2024 47 days
2023 66 days, 8 of them high · 8 high
2022 16 days
2021 9 days
2020 40 days patchy data
2019 13 days
2018 9 days
2017 3 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out, so a year marked patchy may have run high more often than shown. The darker part is days above 9.97 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 10 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.7 km away).

60flood warnings 81flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 3 Mar 2026 — River Yeo and River Parrett Moors, low lying properties around Muchelney

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 12 36
2025 10 5
2024 9 9
2023 11 4
2022 2 2
2021 6 4
2020 5 2
2019 2 4
2018 0 6
2017 0 3
2016 0 3
2015 0 2
2014 1 1
2012 2 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 Long Load flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 10 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 2 more

Frequently asked questions

Is the Witcombe Bottom Main Drain at Long Load flooding today?

The current level is 7.32m, which is within the typical range of 6.65 to 8.44m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Long Load?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling. 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 8.1mm 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 Witcombe Bottom Main Drain at Long Load?

The typical range at this station is 6.65m to 8.44m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 8.44m 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 →