← Back
0.10

Farnham

Alde
East Suffolk catchment • Stratford St Andrew • Suffolk • ID: E23151 • Level
(23m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 166 views

Set water level alerts

Get notified about Farnham — tick as many as you like, they all share the notify settings below.

⤴ Unusual rise — FloodRadar+Top 1% rise rate for this gauge.
Drag the line on the chart, or type a value: m
Quick pick:

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

Current Level
0.099 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.102 m
24h Min
0.092 m
Typical Range
0.10 - 0.27
m
Highest Recorded
1.46 m
EA official record
0.78 in our data (since Oct 1979)
Current level is 7% of this
ⓘ
Flood alert
The Suffolk coast from Lowestoft to Bawdsey
Raised 9 Oct 2026 14:43 · 8.7km away · View flood area
ⓘ
Flood alert
The tidal Deben estuary
Raised 9 Oct 2026 14:10 · 17.5km away · View flood area
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 6h
10 Oct 03:00 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 02:45 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 02:30 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 02:15 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 01:30 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 01:15 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 00:45 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 00:15 ▬ steady 0.099 m
10 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady 0.099 m
09 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady 0.099 m
09 Oct 23:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.099 m
09 Oct 22:30 ▬ steady 0.100 m
09 Oct 22:15 ▬ steady 0.100 m
09 Oct 22:00 ▬ steady 0.100 m
09 Oct 21:45 ▬ steady 0.100 m
09 Oct 21:30 ▬ steady 0.100 m
09 Oct 21:15 ▬ steady 0.100 m
09 Oct 21:00 ▬ steady 0.100 m
09 Oct 20:45 0.100 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Farnham
  • Watercourse: River Alde
  • Nearest Town: Stratford St Andrew
  • County: Suffolk
  • Coordinates: 52°11'19"N 1°27'4"E (52.188599, 1.451217)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 3 Oct 1979
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: E23151
  • RLOI id: 6085 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: E23151-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 0 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: East Suffolk
  • Typical Range: 0.096 – 0.268 m
  • Drainage Area: 64 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 8 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: 0.10 m (EA at 10 Oct 02:45)
  • 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 downstream

Same river system, separate branch

Nearby

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.

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 →

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 0.27 m on about 28 days. This year so far: 36 days.

2026 36 days, 2 of them high · 2 high so far
2025 26 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2024 35 days, 10 of them high · 10 high
2023 52 days, 10 of them high · 10 high
2022 8 days
2021 31 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
2020 38 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2019 21 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2018 33 days, 4 of them high · 4 high
2017 10 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 0.53 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2006 for the 7 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 4.4 km away).

2severe warnings 14flood warnings 353flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 20 Oct 2023 — The River Deben from downstream of Cretingham to Ufford

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 0 12
2025 0 0 17
2024 0 0 32
2023 0 2 26
2022 0 0 20
2021 0 0 18
2020 0 0 19
2019 0 0 12
2018 0 0 7
2017 1 0 16
2016 0 0 16
2015 0 1 6
2014 0 1 16
2013 1 2 14
2012 0 0 14
2011 0 1 9
2010 0 1 13
2009 0 1 8
2008 0 1 23
2007 0 4 45
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 Stratford St Andrew flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 7 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Fairly flashy Responds fairly quickly to rain, with moderate baseflow between events.

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
0.37
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
644 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +6% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.8%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
12.68 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
28.10 m³/s
20 Oct 2023 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.3311.270.1000.0445% (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 6%Grassland 22%Arable 70%Urban 2%
Arable 80% → 70% since 1990

Flow affected by: groundwater abstraction, industrial / agricultural abstraction.

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

Broad-crested weir gauging a rural, groundwater-influenced, clay and Chalk catchment.

More detail

The catchment

The gw contours show only token relationship to the surface topography. Predominantly clay and Chalk, overlain mainly by Boulder Clay and some sands and gravels. Rural, predominantly arable land.

The station

Broad-crested weir of ogee section with low flow notch and steel plate divide walls.

How it measures flow

Rating is non-modular at high flows (above 0.838m stage) and flows go out of bank; rating confirmed by gaugings. Rating accounts for drowning but significant scatter in gaugings between 0.6m and 1.1m. Outside of this range rating fits well to gaugings. One rating applied across period of record.

Flow regime

Gw-influenced regime. Significant gw abstractions for industry/agriculture, some water exported from the catchment.

The flow record

No POT data are presented for this station as they have no non-modular flow correction applied. AMAX data have been corrected, but in some cases can be below the daily flow as these are not corrected. AMAX data are calculated through the extrapolated range of the modular rating for non-modular flows and all flows over 15.5 cumecs (0.838m) are overstimated. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in October 2018 (WINFAP Files v7).

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
Gauging structure
Operating since
1961
Station datum
5.2 mAOD
Flow record
1961–2024 · 63 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1961
Hydrometric area
35
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Alde at Farnham flooding today?

The current level is 0.10m, which is within the typical range of 0.10 to 0.27m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Farnham?

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 Alde at Farnham?

The typical range at this station is 0.10m to 0.27m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.27m 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.

Embed this gauge on your website

Free live river-level widget — ideal for parish councils, angling clubs and local sites. Updates automatically.

Preview

📮 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 →