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Water Level Falling
Down from 0.61 at 17:30, now 0.46
0.46

Horley

Mole
Mole catchment • Horley • Surrey • ID: 3230TH • Level
(1h ago) • 4 readings/hr • 207 views

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Current Level
0.460 mASD
▼ Falling (-3cm/hr)
24h Max
0.610 mASD
24h Min
0.192 mASD
Typical Range
0.19 - 2.42
mASD
Highest Recorded
3.44 mASD
EA official record
3.44 in our data (since Jan 1985)
Current level is 13% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -10 cm over 6h
08 Oct 01:30 ▼ -0.5 cm 0.460 mASD
08 Oct 01:15 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.465 mASD
08 Oct 01:00 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.473 mASD
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -0.9 cm 0.481 mASD
08 Oct 00:30 ▼ -1 cm 0.490 mASD
08 Oct 00:15 ▼ -0.9 cm 0.500 mASD
08 Oct 00:00 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.509 mASD
07 Oct 23:45 ▼ -0.5 cm 0.517 mASD
07 Oct 23:30 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.522 mASD
07 Oct 22:30 ▲ +0.5 cm 0.526 mASD
07 Oct 22:15 ▲ +0.4 cm 0.521 mASD
07 Oct 22:00 ▲ +0.5 cm 0.517 mASD
07 Oct 21:45 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.512 mASD
07 Oct 21:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.509 mASD
07 Oct 21:15 ▼ -0.7 cm 0.512 mASD
07 Oct 21:00 ▼ -0.8 cm 0.519 mASD
07 Oct 20:45 ▼ -1 cm 0.527 mASD
07 Oct 20:30 ▼ -1 cm 0.537 mASD
07 Oct 20:15 ▼ -1 cm 0.548 mASD
07 Oct 20:00 0.559 mASD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Horley
  • Watercourse: River Mole
  • Nearest Town: Horley
  • County: Surrey
  • Nearest reservoir: Weirwood (14.9 km) · 85.0% full (as of 31 Aug 2026)
  • Coordinates: 51°10'26"N 0°10'60"W (51.173918, -0.183230)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1984
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 3230TH
  • RLOI id: 7254 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 3230TH-level-stage-i-15_min-mASD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mASD
  • Typical rise rate: 5 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: 0.189 – 2.420 mASD
  • Drainage Area: 90 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 6 Oct (2 days behind — the EA publishes each day's mean a day or two after it ends; estimated, provisional) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 0.46 mASD (EA at 8 Oct 01:45)
  • 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 upstream

Connected downstream

Same river system, separate branch

Distances by river: OS Open Rivers. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

💧 Storm overflows upstream of this gauge

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.

1 storm overflow is traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 4.8 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 1 reports not discharging.

💧
Thames Water · into Mans Brook · 4.8 km upstream along the river
25 spills · 167 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

Nearby, connection not known

Within 6 km in a straight line, but the river map cannot say whether their water passes this gauge.

💧
Thames Water · into Tributary Of Gatwick Stream · 3.5 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
33 spills · 363 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Norman's Gill · 5.1 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Thames Water · into Redhill Brook · 5.4 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
3 spills · 3 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

6 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.

Rainfall & Weather

Loading rainfall and weather data...

How often this river runs high

In a typical year this gauge reaches its typical high of 2.42 m on about 6 days. This year so far: 4 days.

2026 4 days so far
2025 5 days
2024 10 days
2023 7 days
2022 5 days
2021 6 days
2020 7 days
2019 8 days
2018 0 days
2017 2 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2012 for the 13 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.9 km away).

42flood warnings 140flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 24 Dec 2022 — Weatherhill Stream at Smallfield

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 7
2025 0 11
2024 0 22
2023 0 14
2022 4 8
2021 0 6
2020 3 8
2019 5 14
2018 0 2
2017 0 3
2016 0 13
2015 0 4
2014 18 9
2013 6 8
2012 6 11

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 Horley flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 13 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 5 more

Catchment Character

🌊 Urban & flashy Heavily built-up — rain runs off hard surfaces fast, so levels can spike within hours of heavy rain.

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
0.46
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
861 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +4% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
19%
heavily urbanised
Median Annual Flood
25.68 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
48.40 m³/s
6 Nov 2000 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 1.404.650.7580.2575% (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 24%Grassland 38%Arable 5%Urban 32%
Urban 26% → 32% since 1990

Flow affected by: public water supply, effluent returns.

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

Compound broad-crested weir. Runoff reduced by public water supply abstraction and increased by increasing sewage effluent contribution.

More detail

The catchment

Catchment is mainly impermeable (chiefly Weald Clay) with mixed land use and growing urban component - includes Crawley, Gatwick Airport; considerable woodland also.

The station

Central notch: 2.44m broad (crest changed in July 2003 to Crump profile with significantly lower crest level, to reduce u/s impoundment) plus flanking crests: 10.96m broad, no divide walls.

How it measures flow

Probably drowns, rated section at high flows; well rated to 30 cumecs but considerable uncertainty in extreme flow range. Significant scatter in gaugings surrounding the current rating (post 2003), therefore station closed at the transition to the new rating. Period between 1961 - 2003 remains suitable for QMED. One rating applied across period of record.

Flow regime

Runoff reduced by public water supply abstraction. Sewage effluent contribution is increasing (much of it from outside the catchment); moderate overall increase in runoff.

The flow record

Data removed after 24/07/2003 due to uncertainties with the rating, and the station closed. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in August 2025 (WINFAP Files v14).

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
1961–2003
Station datum
51.7 mAOD
Flow record
1961–2003 · 42 yrs · 100% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1961
Hydrometric area
39
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Mole at Horley flooding today?

The current level is 0.46m, which is within the typical range of 0.19 to 2.42m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Horley?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling. The chart above shows the last 12 hours of measurements by default (up to 7 days), 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 Mole at Horley?

The typical range at this station is 0.19m to 2.42m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 2.42m 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:

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 →