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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 1.02 at 20:15, now 0.97
0.97

Jeffy Knotts

Brathay
South Cumbria catchment • Jeffy Knotts • Westmorland and Furness • ID: 735123 • Level
(32m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 177 views

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Current Level
0.967 m
▼ Easing
24h Max
1.073 m
24h Min
0.967 m
Typical Range
0.45 - 1.75
m
Highest Recorded
4.50 m
EA official record
4.50 in our data (since Jan 1976)
Current level is 21% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -3 cm over 5h
08 Oct 05:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.967 m
08 Oct 05:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.968 m
08 Oct 04:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.969 m
08 Oct 04:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.972 m
08 Oct 04:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.975 m
08 Oct 03:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.976 m
08 Oct 03:30 ▬ steady 0.979 m
08 Oct 03:15 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.979 m
08 Oct 03:00 ▬ steady 0.983 m
08 Oct 02:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.983 m
08 Oct 02:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.986 m
08 Oct 02:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.987 m
08 Oct 02:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.989 m
08 Oct 01:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.990 m
08 Oct 01:30 ▬ steady 0.993 m
08 Oct 01:15 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.993 m
08 Oct 01:00 ▬ steady 0.997 m
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.997 m
08 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 1.000 m
08 Oct 00:15 1.000 m

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 735123
  • RLOI id: 5161 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 735123-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 8 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: South Cumbria
  • Typical Range: 0.447 – 1.754 m
  • Drainage Area: 57 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: 0.97 m (EA at 8 Oct 05:15)
  • 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.

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

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 4.2 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 1 reports not discharging.

💧
United Utilities · into Great Langdale Beck · 4.2 km upstream along the river
36 spills · 423 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.

💧
United Utilities · into Grasmere Lake · 4.0 km away in a straight line · discharges to a loch, lake or reservoir
53 spills · 408 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 →

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 1.75 m on about 45 days. This year so far: 24 days.

2026 24 days, 1 of them high · 1 high so far
2025 54 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2024 44 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2023 58 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2022 36 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2021 38 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
2020 55 days, 8 of them high · 8 high
2019 41 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
2018 35 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2017 40 days, 6 of them high · 6 high

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 2.67 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 8 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.6 km away).

17flood warnings 230flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 14 Dec 2025 — River Rothay at Grasmere, White Bridge and Stock Lane

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 6
2025 5 12
2024 3 15
2023 4 16
2022 1 14
2021 4 8
2020 0 8
2019 0 9
2018 0 3
2017 0 9
2016 0 7
2015 0 9
2014 0 6
2013 0 9
2012 0 12
2011 0 7
2010 0 6
2009 0 10
2008 0 18
2007 0 22
2006 0 24

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 Jeffy Knotts flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 8 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Steep & flashy Steep catchment sheds rain quickly — expect fast, sharp rises after 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
0.44
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
3,037 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +6% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.0%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
88.26 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
161 m³/s
19 Nov 2009 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 5.0718.692.380.3415% (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 11%Grassland 82%Arable 2%Heath/scrub 2%Urban 1%Other 1%

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

Velocity area station. Bed movement and weed growth require frequent rating changes.

More detail

The catchment

Steep, very wet moorland catchment, draining Langdale Fell in centre of Lake District, running into Windermere. Solid geology Silurian and Ordovician Volcanics and lavas, much exposed at outcrop. Some hill peat and boulder clay cover. Catchment contains four small, natural waterbodies. No catchment changes known.

The station

Velocity area station in a straight section with stony bed, opened 07/09/1970. The original site at Jeffy Knotts consisted of a small kiosk with chart recorder. This was replaced during March-April 1998 with a full size well and building with power and telemetry. The station replaced the nearby site downstream at Brathay Hall which opened on 08/10/1965 and was terminated on 16/12/1980. Microfiche stage data is available for that site.

How it measures flow

Rock bar downstream acts as control. All flows contained. Bed dredged between 19-24/07/1994 causing water levels to fall by approx. 0.2m. Flows seriously affected by weed growth and heavily vegetated banks (which restrict flow at high levels to centre of the channel). No permanent cableway or suitable bridge nearby, though flows above wade height can now be gauged by ADCP. Multiple low flow ratings to account for gravel deposition and weed growth, with a single modelled peak flow rating above 2m.

Flow regime

Natural catchment, draining through Elterwater.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2020 (WINFAP Files v9).

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
Velocity–area
Operating since
1970
Station datum
41.9 mAOD
Flow record
1976–2024 · 48 yrs · 92% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1970
Hydrometric area
73
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Brathay at Jeffy Knotts flooding today?

The current level is 0.97m, which is within the typical range of 0.45 to 1.75m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Jeffy Knotts?

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.

What is a normal level for the River Brathay at Jeffy Knotts?

The typical range at this station is 0.45m to 1.75m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.75m 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 →