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🌊 Tide going out · low water in ~4h
0.34

Oulton Broad

Waveney 🌊 Tidal
Broadland Rivers catchment • Oulton Broad • Suffolk • ID: E24823 • Level
This gauge is tidally influenced — levels rise and fall with each tide, so rapid changes here are normal and don't necessarily indicate flooding.
⚙ Tidally influenced — twice-daily tide from the tidal Waveney (manual flag 2026-07-31; classifier tidal-limit path has no CFF coastal downstream here)
(46m ago) • 2 readings/hr • 152 views

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Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on EA/SEPA data and are best-efforts. Terms

Current Level
0.337 mAOD
▼ Falling (-10cm/hr)
24h Max
0.608 mAOD
24h Min
-0.077 mAOD
Typical Range
-0.23 - 1.31
mAOD
Highest Recorded
2.00 mAOD
27 Mar 2006
Since Feb 2001
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Flood predictions aren't generated for tidal gauges — their levels are driven by the tide, not by catchment rainfall, so the forecast models would have no skill here.

Recent Readings

Rising · +21 cm over 6h
23 Aug 22:45 ▼ -3 cm 0.337 mAOD
23 Aug 22:30 ▼ -13 cm 0.363 mAOD
23 Aug 21:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.488 mAOD
23 Aug 21:00 ▲ +0.5 cm 0.491 mAOD
23 Aug 20:45 ▲ +1 cm 0.486 mAOD
23 Aug 20:30 ▲ +1 cm 0.476 mAOD
23 Aug 20:15 ▲ +2 cm 0.463 mAOD
23 Aug 20:00 ▲ +2 cm 0.446 mAOD
23 Aug 19:45 ▲ +2 cm 0.428 mAOD
23 Aug 19:30 ▲ +2 cm 0.408 mAOD
23 Aug 19:15 ▲ +2 cm 0.385 mAOD
23 Aug 19:00 ▲ +3 cm 0.363 mAOD
23 Aug 18:45 ▲ +3 cm 0.338 mAOD
23 Aug 18:30 ▲ +3 cm 0.312 mAOD
23 Aug 18:15 ▲ +3 cm 0.283 mAOD
23 Aug 18:00 ▲ +3 cm 0.257 mAOD
23 Aug 17:45 ▲ +3 cm 0.225 mAOD
23 Aug 17:30 ▲ +4 cm 0.196 mAOD
23 Aug 17:15 ▲ +3 cm 0.159 mAOD
23 Aug 17:00 0.127 mAOD

Rainfall & Weather

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Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2006 for the 9 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.5 km away).

10severe warnings 66flood warnings 304flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 1 Jan 2026Isolated low lying properties along the tidal River Waveney

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 1 9
2025 0 5 13
2024 0 8 37
2023 0 5 19
2022 0 6 17
2021 0 0 24
2020 0 10 23
2019 0 3 13
2018 0 0 16
2017 5 7 15
2016 0 0 3
2015 0 7 8
2014 0 2 2
2013 5 11 11
2012 0 0 6
2011 0 1 7
2010 0 0 11
2009 0 0 8
2008 0 0 19
2007 0 0 33
2006 0 0 10

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 Oulton Broad flood history.

Nearby Stations

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Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Oulton Broad
  • Watercourse: River Waveney
  • Nearest Town: Oulton Broad
  • County: Suffolk
  • Nearest reservoir: Ormesby (21.9 km) · 87.4% full (as of 28 Dec 2025)
  • Coordinates: 52°28'30"N 1°42'37"E (52.474903, 1.710410)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 14 Feb 2001
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
  • Station Reference: E24823
  • EA Gauge ID: E24823-level-stage-i-15_min-mAOD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mAOD
  • Typical rise rate: 21 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~27 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: 🌊 Yes — levels follow the tide
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Broadland Rivers
  • Typical Range: -0.230 – 1.310 mAOD
  • EA Cross-check: 0.36 mAOD (EA at 23 Aug 22:30)

Geographic coordinates may reflect the access point for the gauge, and not the precise location in the watercourse that it is taking readings from.

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Waveney at Oulton Broad flooding today?

The current level is 0.34m, which is within the typical range of -0.23 to 1.31m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Oulton Broad?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling. The chart above shows the last 7 days of measurements, 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. 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 Waveney at Oulton Broad?

The typical range at this station is -0.23m to 1.31m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.31m are higher than usually seen and may indicate a flood risk.

How often is this river level data updated?

Readings are taken by the Environment Agency gauge roughly every 15 minutes and FloodRadar refreshes its data continuously, so the level shown is normally less than an hour old.

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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, floods since 1946, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off. Learn more →