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Drag the line on the chart, or type a value:mASD
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You'll be notified when this gauge is rising more than 0.10 m/hr — a sign of rapidly increasing water levels.
You'll be notified when a new storm-overflow (sewage) discharge starts within ~3 km of this gauge, based on the water companies' near-real-time feeds.
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Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on
EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms
Current Level
0.090 mASD
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.096 mASD
24h Min
0.087 mASD
Typical Range
0.09 - 0.68
mASD
Highest Recorded
3.33 mASD
EA official record
2.32 in our data (since Jul 2000)
Current level is 3% of this
🚽Sewage overflows nearby
Recent Water Levels
🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day
EA forecast (official)
Flood predictions aren't generated for
lock / structure gauges —
their levels are driven by gate operation,
not by catchment rainfall, so the forecast models would have no skill here.
River Flow
90 days
Daily mean discharge (m³/s) with the daily min–max band, from the EA Hydrology API. Flow is the volume of water passing the gauge — often a more direct flood signal than level.
Downstream level
7 days
The level on the DOWNSTREAM side of this lock/weir structure — a separate EA
measure from the main (upstream) reading shown on the Current tab. Threshold bands
are computed from this gauge's own downstream history.
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
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.
4 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 1.9 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 4 report not discharging.
Severn Trent Water · into Millholme Brook · 5.9 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
7 spills · 75 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
2 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 →
In a typical year this gauge reaches its typical high of 0.68 m
on about 39 days.
This year so far: 33 days.
202633 days, 2 of them high · 2 highso far
202527 days, 3 of them high · 3 high
202472 days, 14 of them high · 14 high
202356 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
202226 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
202137 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
202050 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
201949 days, 9 of them high · 9 high
201821 days, 4 of them high · 4 high
201713 days
Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out.
The darker part is days above 1.55 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.
Flood history near this gauge
Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2008 for the 9 flood
areas linked to this gauge (nearest 2.5 km away).
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 Bascote flood history.
Flood areas linked to this gauge
Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 9 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.
🌊 FlashyRain runs off fast — levels rise and fall sharply, often 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
0.25
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
676 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +5% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
1.6%
largely rural
Highest Daily Mean Flow
84.81 m³/s
21 Jul 2007 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
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 4%Grassland 47%Arable 43%Urban 6%
Arable 51% → 43% since 1990
Photos
Gauging-station photographs from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH).
Level site with flat V weir, brick gauge house opened July 2000.
More detail
The catchment
The River Itchen rises to the north at Marton before heading south towards Long Itchington and then onto the gauging station at Southam. Catchment generally comprised of low lying agricultural land.
The station
Following the review of the Easter 1998 floods, it was determined that the gauging station at Eathorpe on the River Leam did not provide sufficient coverage, to provide accurate flood warnings to Leamington. The Environment Agency decided to construct a gauging station on the River Itchen at Southam to monitor water levels and flows entering the River Leam, to improve flow forecasting models and flood warning lead-time for Leamington. The gauge provides improved monitoring of abstraction on the River Itchen for water resources. The gauging station building has two stilling wells, to measure both the upstream head and tail water levels. A new channel was excavated on the right bank of the existing channel to provide a straighter approach and to facilitate construction of the hydraulic structure. Following completion of the works, the old river channel was backfilled with the material excavated from the new channel.
How it measures flow
Gaugings carried out using remote controlled ADCP. Artificial influences include a road bridge approximately 62m upstream and Southam sewage works 200m downstream.
Flow regime
Generally baseflow dominated. The floods in July 2007 were the highest in the stations record. Flood water inundated the gauge house, submerging instrumentation inside the building. The peak water level was accurately determined from seed lines and water marks within the building.
The flow record
Complete period of record. Peak level in July 2007 estimated as 3.2 mASD (85m3/s).
How this gauging station is built and how long it has measured (NRFA / UKCEH).
Gauge type
Flat-V weir
Operating since
2000
Station datum
119.8 mAOD
Flow record
2004–2024 · 20 yrs · 100% complete
Hydrometric area
54
Measured by
Environment Agency
Nearby Groundwater
Soil Moisture
Frequently asked questions
Is the River Itchen at Southam flooding today?
The current level is 0.09m, which is within the typical range of 0.09 to 0.68m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at Southam?
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 Itchen at Southam?
The typical range at this station is 0.09m to 0.68m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 0.68m 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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Free live river-level widget — ideal for parish councils, angling clubs and local sites. Updates automatically.
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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:
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