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You'll be notified when this gauge is rising more than 0.10 m/hr — a sign of rapidly increasing water levels.
You'll be notified when a new storm-overflow (sewage) discharge starts within ~3 km of this gauge, based on the water companies' near-real-time feeds.
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Current Level
0.251 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.251 m
24h Min
0.237 m
Typical Range
0.22 - 0.85
m
Highest Recorded
1.81 m
EA official record
1.81 in our data (since Feb 2015)
Current level is 14% of this
ⓘ
Flood alert
The tidal River Waveney from Ellingham to Breydon Water
Higher than normal tides today may lead to flooding.
Flooding is possible from 10:00AM to 2:00PM on Saturday 10th October.
We expect to see high water levels at Beccles Quay. Levels can take several hours to peak.
We are closely monitoring the situation .
Take care and avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water.
This message will be updated by 5:00PM on Saturday 10 October or as the situation changes.
Experimental model fusing soil moisture, river flow, groundwater and catchment
character. The shaded band is its 10–90% range, widened so that about 80% of recent outcomes fall inside it.
Under evaluation — not yet promoted, so treat as a second opinion.
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.
11 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 13.2 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 11 report not discharging.
Anglian Water · into Starston Beck River Waveney N · 3.7 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
5 spills · 24 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
1 other overflow within 6 km is downstream of this gauge or on another branch of the river network, so it is 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 →
In a typical year this gauge reaches its typical high of 0.85 m
on about 11 days.
This year so far: 0 days.
20260 days so far
20250 days
202423 days, 15 of them high · 15 high
202320 days, 8 of them high · 8 high
20221 day, 1 of them high · 1 high
202118 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
202014 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
20194 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
201813 days, 3 of them high · 3 high
20172 days
Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out.
The darker part is days above 1.06 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.
Flood history near this gauge
Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2007 for the 2 flood
areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.9 km away).
Timing, not cause. Gauges can move together simply because the same rain fell on both.
Frequently asked questions
Is the River Waveney at Needham flooding today?
The current level is 0.25m, which is within the typical range of 0.22 to 0.85m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at Needham?
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 Waveney at Needham?
The typical range at this station is 0.22m to 0.85m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.85m 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:
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