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Get notified about Polstead — tick as many as you like, they all share the notify settings below.
Each one is saved as its own alert — pause or remove them individually any time.
Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms
Geographic coordinates may reflect the access point for the gauge, and not the precise location in the watercourse that it is taking readings from.
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.
Distances by river: OS Open Rivers. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.
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.
2 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 3.5 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 2 report not discharging.
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.
Loading rainfall and weather data...
In a typical year this gauge reaches its typical high of 0.68 m on about 6 days. This year so far: 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.
Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2007 for the 6 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.5 km away).
Most recent flood warning: 18 Feb 2024 — The River Brett from Lavenham to Higham
| Year | Warnings | Alerts |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0 | 6 |
| 2025 | 0 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 | 18 |
| 2023 | 7 | 12 |
| 2021 | 0 | 11 |
| 2020 | 1 | 9 |
| 2019 | 1 | 4 |
| 2018 | 0 | 3 |
| 2016 | 1 | 4 |
| 2014 | 5 | 7 |
| 2013 | 0 | 2 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4 |
| 2011 | 0 | 3 |
| 2010 | 1 | 4 |
| 2009 | 2 | 4 |
| 2008 | 3 | 9 |
| 2007 | 1 | 5 |
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 Polstead flood history.
Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 6 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.
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).
Flow affected by: groundwater abstraction, effluent returns, industrial / agricultural abstraction.
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 ↗
Gauging a rural, predominantly London Clay and Chalk catchment with superficial deposits and with only minor artificial influences. Station is occasionally affected by weed growth.
Descriptions from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH). NRFA station record ↗
How this gauging station is built and how long it has measured (NRFA / UKCEH).
The current level is 0.13m, which is within the typical range of 0.10 to 0.68m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
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.
The typical range at this station is 0.10m to 0.68m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.68m are higher than usually seen and may indicate a flood risk.
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.
Free live river-level widget — ideal for parish councils, angling clubs and local sites. Updates automatically.
Postcodes within 5 km with properties in the Environment Agency’s rivers-and-sea flood-risk bands:
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