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1.43

Esher

Mole
Mole catchment • Esher • Surrey • ID: 3290TH • Level
(31m ago) • 3 readings/hr • 186 views

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Current Level
1.431 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
1.438 mASD
24h Min
1.418 mASD
Typical Range
1.27 - 4.32
mASD
Highest Recorded
13.34 mASD
28 Feb 2025
Since Dec 1984
Current level is 11% of this
Current Flow
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🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Steady over 6h
23 Aug 23:15 ▬ steady 1.431 mASD
23 Aug 23:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 1.432 mASD
23 Aug 22:45 ▬ steady 1.433 mASD
23 Aug 21:30 ▬ steady 1.433 mASD
23 Aug 21:15 ▬ steady 1.433 mASD
23 Aug 21:00 ▬ steady 1.433 mASD
23 Aug 20:45 ▬ steady 1.433 mASD
23 Aug 20:30 ▬ steady 1.433 mASD
23 Aug 20:15 ▬ steady 1.433 mASD
23 Aug 20:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 1.433 mASD
23 Aug 19:45 ▬ steady 1.432 mASD
23 Aug 19:30 ▬ steady 1.432 mASD
23 Aug 19:15 ▬ steady 1.432 mASD
23 Aug 19:00 ▬ steady 1.431 mASD
23 Aug 18:45 ▬ steady 1.431 mASD
23 Aug 18:30 ▬ steady 1.431 mASD
23 Aug 18:15 ▬ steady 1.431 mASD
23 Aug 18:00 ▬ steady 1.431 mASD
23 Aug 17:45 ▬ steady 1.431 mASD
23 Aug 17:30 1.431 mASD

Rainfall & Weather

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Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2013 for the 6 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.7 km away).

1severe warning 21flood warnings 27flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 16 Jan 2026River Mole at Leatherhead and Fetcham

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 1 0
2025 0 3 2
2024 0 3 2
2023 0 1 0
2022 0 1 5
2021 0 0 6
2020 0 2 2
2019 0 2 5
2018 0 0 5
2014 0 6 0
2013 1 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 Esher flood history.

Nearby Stations

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Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Esher
  • Watercourse: River Mole
  • Nearest Town: Esher
  • County: Surrey
  • Coordinates: 51°22'54"N 0°22'39"W (51.381714, -0.377493)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1984
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
  • Station Reference: 3290TH
  • EA Gauge ID: 3290TH-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 1 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Mole
  • Typical Range: 1.272 – 4.320 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 470 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Available (m³/s) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 1.43 mASD (EA at 23 Aug 23:15)
  • 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.

Catchment Character

🌊 Mixed response A balance of quick runoff and slower groundwater baseflow.

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
0.52
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
803 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +5% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
11%
partly urbanised
Median Annual Flood
54.12 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Recorded Flow
90.10 m³/s
7 Nov 2000
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 5.6619.903.071.345% (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 20%Grassland 47%Arable 10%Urban 22%Other 1%
Urban 18% → 22% since 1990

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

Ultrasonic gauging station situation on Mole Flood Aleviation Scheme. Gates upstream and downstream of the section.

More detail

The catchment

A largely impervious catchment divided by the W-E trending ridge of the North Downs (Chalk and Upper Greensand). Diverse land use - rural tracts and considerable suburban development.

The station

New ultrasonic, full range capability and improved reliability. Replaced earlier US just u/s (in a reach created as part of the Mole Flood alleviation Scheme); debris and siltation (blocking transducers) and high temperature gradients caused substantial malfunction particularly at low flows. New gauge is prone to weed in channel, which can cause issues at low flows. Station added to peak flows dataset in September 2022 (WINFAP Files v11).

How it measures flow

Flow and levels are affected by downstream Island Barn Weir and upstream Viaduct Sluice. Both are operated as part of the Lower Mole Flood Aleviation Scheme in high flows.

Flow regime

Responsive regime. Some sewage effluent derives from outside the catchment.

The flow record

Several drop outs in record including December 2016 due to level being dropped downstream to perform channel maintenance work. WY1998/1999 rejected because it is a partial first year of the record, and WY2009/2010 rejected as AMAX likely occured during period of fault with the gauge - GDF infilled.

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
Ultrasonic
Operating since
1984
Station datum
10.0 mAOD
Flow record
1984–2024 · 40 yrs · 90% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1998
Hydrometric area
39
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Mole at Esher flooding today?

The current level is 1.43m, which is within the typical range of 1.27 to 4.32m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Esher?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently steady. The chart above shows the last 7 days of measurements, updated roughly every 15 minutes.

What is a normal level for the River Mole at Esher?

The typical range at this station is 1.27m to 4.32m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 4.32m 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 →