← Back
Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.42 at 20:45, now 0.40
0.40

Elland

Calder
Aire and Calder catchment • Elland • West Yorkshire • ID: F1203 • Level
(1h ago) • 4 readings/hr • 173 views

Set water level alerts

Get notified about Elland — 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
0.400 m
▼ Easing
24h Max
0.461 m
24h Min
0.400 m
Typical Range
0.35 - 1.35
m
Highest Recorded
2.76 m
EA official record
2.75 in our data (since Apr 1966)
Current level is 15% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -2 cm over 6h
08 Oct 01:30 ▬ steady 0.400 m
08 Oct 01:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.400 m
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.403 m
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.403 m
08 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 0.406 m
08 Oct 00:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.407 m
08 Oct 00:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.409 m
07 Oct 23:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.411 m
07 Oct 23:30 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.412 m
07 Oct 22:30 ▬ steady 0.416 m
07 Oct 22:15 ▬ steady 0.416 m
07 Oct 22:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.416 m
07 Oct 21:45 ▬ steady 0.417 m
07 Oct 21:30 ▬ steady 0.417 m
07 Oct 21:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.417 m
07 Oct 21:00 ▬ steady 0.416 m
07 Oct 20:45 ▬ steady 0.416 m
07 Oct 20:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.416 m
07 Oct 20:15 ▬ steady 0.415 m
07 Oct 20:00 0.415 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Elland
  • Watercourse: River Calder
  • Nearest Town: Elland
  • County: West Yorkshire
  • Nearest reservoir: Ringstone Ire (8.4 km) · 72.8% full (as of 28 Sep 2026)
  • Coordinates: 53°41'39"N 1°48'49"W (53.694286, -1.813678)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 5 Apr 1966
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: F1203
  • RLOI id: 8073 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: F1203-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 2 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Aire and Calder
  • Typical Range: 0.351 – 1.350 m
  • Drainage Area: 342 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; unchecked, provisional) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 0.40 m (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

Nearby

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.

92 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 1.8 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 88 report not discharging, and for 4 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.

💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Calder · 1.8 km upstream along the river
38 spills · 89 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Calder · 1.8 km upstream along the river
2 spills · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Calder · 1.8 km upstream along the river
1 spill · 5 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Calder · 1.8 km upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Calder · 2.1 km upstream along the river
2 spills · 6 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Calder · 2.1 km upstream along the river
11 spills · 28 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Canker Dyke · 2.2 km upstream along the river
77 spills · 180 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Canker Dyke · 2.2 km upstream along the river
47 spills · 91 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

84 more further upstream, up to 28.3 km away along the river.

Nearby, connection not known

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

💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tributary Of The River Calder · 1.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
32 spills · 40 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Wyke Beck · 1.9 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
66 spills · 244 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Grimescar Dike · 3.1 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
23 spills · 38 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Wyke Beck · 3.7 km away in a straight line · several watercourses close by, nothing to choose between them
62 spills · 311 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Trib Of Huddersfield Brd Canal · 3.9 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Trib Of Huddersfield Brd Canal · 3.9 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
15 spills · 14 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Wyke Beck · 4.2 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
32 spills · 55 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tributary Of Grimscar Dike · 4.2 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

12 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

40 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 1.35 m on about 2 days. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 1 day
2024 3 days
2023 3 days
2022 1 day
2021 2 days
2020 6 days
2019 5 days
2018 0 days
2017 1 day

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 2011 for the 22 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.1 km away).

3severe warnings 130flood warnings 160flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 1 Jan 2025 — River Calder and River Ryburn at Sowerby Bridge

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 0 6
2025 0 9 6
2024 0 1 12
2023 0 3 7
2022 0 5 4
2021 0 2 10
2020 0 21 10
2019 0 24 14
2018 0 3 9
2017 0 1 11
2016 0 6 17
2015 3 39 20
2014 0 5 7
2013 0 0 7
2012 0 11 17
2011 0 0 3

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 Elland flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 22 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 14 more

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
0.46
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,302 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +3% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
4.8%
partly urbanised
Median Annual Flood
136 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
190 m³/s
26 Dec 2015 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 8.5227.424.942.055% (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 49%Heath/scrub 33%Urban 10%Other 2%
Woodland 11% → 6% since 1990

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, public water supply, 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 masonry weir in catchment with heavily urbanised valley floors and rural headwaters.

More detail

The catchment

Catchment draining the eastern flank of the Pennines, above Halifax. Geology comprises Upper Carboniferous Millstone Grit Series but includes a small area of Lower Coal Measures at Elland. The headwaters rise from peat-covered moorland. Very steep and often-wooded, headwater valleys cut down through Millstone Grit. Valley bottoms of lower catchment are heavily urbanised and industrialised. Valleys rise steeply to moorland predominantly covered by peat. Higher land is roughly grazed. The valley floors are urbanised and industrialised; the catchment contains Halifax and Elland. Increasing urbanisation in valley bottom towns during period of record.

The station

Broad-crested masonry weir 53m wide with a 5m Crump-profile notch adjacent to the right wing wall for low flow measurement. In July 1969, deteriorating timber-crest replaced by concrete-cap. Low flow notch enlarged 1971 followed by recalibration. The weir is a short distance downstream of a bend. When the old canal, 'Tag Cut' was infilled, historic problem of flows bypassing the station removed.

How it measures flow

Current metering of low-flows was originally from the footbridge 200m downstream in June 1954, then from 1962 using an adjacent cableway. A pressure-bulb recorder was installed to monitor high flows in 1969. Cableway burned 1989 replaced by rail on vehicle bridge 200m d/s, 1996. Water level recorder re-sited nearer the river in 1980. Flow out of bank at recorder is contained at cableway. Two peak flow ratings applied across the period of record. Crump weir formula for weir notch with main weir calibrated by current metering from bridge. Flood Studies Report grade of A2 downgraded to C when computed flows were compared with original rating in 1975.

Flow regime

Heavily impounded with around 18 reservoirs controlling about 15.4% of total watershed, mainly by small impoundments, but including Walshaw Dean. Some abstraction to supply the Yorkshire Grid.

The flow record

Previous period-of-record maximum flow occurred in October 1967 but considerable uncertainty surrounds the event magnitude. The EA record a figure of 520 cumecs, but this is known to have been extrapolated and may have been affected by hydrometric changes. Partial weir collpased was repaired to same specifications in June 1982 necessitating a new rating curve. Flows reprocessed, resulting in a substantial increase in high flows and a decrease in low flows. Gaugings from 1987 were subject to systematic error and not used. Rating review in 2020, based on hydraulic modelling, reduced flows above 1.65m stage (1971-present). Pre-1971 peak flows are rejected as there is no known suitable rating for this period.

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
Crump weir
Operating since
1961
Station datum
58.4 mAOD
Flow record
1961–2024 · 63 yrs · 96% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1953
Hydrometric area
27
Measured by
Environment Agency

Rain upstream

This gauge has no rain model of its own, but it usually follows Huddersfield Longroyd Bridge: when about 6mm of rain falls near Huddersfield Longroyd Bridge in 6h, this gauge usually starts rising about 75 minutes later.

Recent rain upstream: 0mm/6h — below Huddersfield Longroyd Bridge's usual trigger.

Record: this held 2 of 3 times (live) · rain gauge: Rainfall station

Experimental, from historical rain and river data. Not an official flood warning.

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Calder at Elland flooding today?

The current level is 0.40m, which is within the typical range of 0.35 to 1.35m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Elland?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling slightly. 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 Calder at Elland?

The typical range at this station is 0.35m to 1.35m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.35m 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 →