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Water Level Falling
5.56

York Foss Barrier

Browney Dyke
Swale, Ure, Nidd and Upper Ouse catchment • York Foss Barrier • York • ID: L2472 • Level
(25m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 193 views

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Current Level
5.557 mAOD
▼ Falling (-3cm/hr)
24h Max
5.591 mAOD
24h Min
5.417 mAOD
Typical Range
5.07 - 6.95
mAOD
Highest Recorded
9.24 mAOD
EA official record
9.24 in our data (since Apr 1996)
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -3 cm over 5h
08 Oct 13:30 ▼ -0.8 cm 5.557 mAOD
08 Oct 13:15 ▼ -0.5 cm 5.565 mAOD
08 Oct 13:00 ▼ -0.8 cm 5.570 mAOD
08 Oct 12:45 ▼ -0.6 cm 5.578 mAOD
08 Oct 12:30 ▬ steady 5.584 mAOD
08 Oct 12:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 5.584 mAOD
08 Oct 11:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 5.587 mAOD
08 Oct 11:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 5.588 mAOD
08 Oct 11:15 ▬ steady 5.589 mAOD
08 Oct 11:00 ▬ steady 5.589 mAOD
08 Oct 10:45 ▬ steady 5.590 mAOD
08 Oct 10:30 ▬ steady 5.589 mAOD
08 Oct 10:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 5.589 mAOD
08 Oct 10:00 ▬ steady 5.591 mAOD
08 Oct 09:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 5.591 mAOD
08 Oct 09:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 5.590 mAOD
08 Oct 09:15 ▬ steady 5.591 mAOD
08 Oct 09:00 ▬ steady 5.591 mAOD
08 Oct 08:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 5.591 mAOD
08 Oct 08:30 5.590 mAOD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: York Foss Barrier
  • Watercourse: Browney Dyke
  • Nearest Town: York Foss Barrier
  • County: York
  • Coordinates: 53°57'11"N 1°4'43"W (53.952942, -1.078715)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 31 Mar 1996
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: L2472
  • RLOI id: 9386 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: L2472-level-stage-i-15_min-mAOD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mAOD
  • 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: Swale, Ure, Nidd and Upper Ouse
  • Typical Range: 5.074 – 6.953 mAOD
  • EA Cross-check: 5.57 mAOD (EA at 8 Oct 13:15)

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.

20 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 520 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 20 report not discharging.

💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Foss · 520 m upstream along the river
10 spills · 7 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tang Hall Beck · 850 m upstream along the river
21 spills · 39 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tang Hall Beck · 940 m upstream along the river
31 spills · 141 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tang Hall Beck · 940 m upstream along the river
71 spills · 358 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Foss · 1.3 km upstream along the river
15 spills · 20 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tbc When Permit Issued · 1.3 km upstream along the river
1 spill · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Placed on the river by its position alone.
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Foss · 1.8 km upstream along the river
14 spills · 39 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Foss · 1.8 km upstream along the river
26 spills · 121 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

12 more further upstream, up to 20.8 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 Tbc When Permit Issued · 60 m away in a straight line · too close to the gauge to say which side
29 spills · 317 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tang Hall Beck · 240 m away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
73 spills · 881 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Culverted Knavesmire Beck · 1.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
11 spills · 55 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Tributary Of River Ouse · 1.5 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
12 spills · 52 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Foss · 1.8 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
9 spills · 23 hours in 2025
No live feed for this overflow
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Trib Of Holgate Beck · 2.5 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Holgate Beck · 2.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
7 spills · 3 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Not Matched In Ea Consents Database · 2.7 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
17 spills · 5 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

11 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

35 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 6.95 m on about 48 days. This year so far: 30 days.

2026 30 days, 1 of them high · 1 high so far
2025 41 days
2024 55 days
2023 60 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2022 32 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2021 59 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2020 52 days, 7 of them high · 7 high patchy data
2019 38 days, 3 of them high · 3 high
2018 18 days, 2 of them high · 2 high patchy data
2017 8 days patchy data

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out, so a year marked patchy may have run high more often than shown. The darker part is days above 7.59 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2011 for the 22 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.2 km away).

1severe warning 235flood warnings 12flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 14 Mar 2026 — River Ouse at York - riverside properties

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 11 2
2025 0 10 2
2024 0 20 5
2023 0 27 3
2022 0 8 0
2021 0 20 0
2020 0 30 0
2019 0 12 0
2018 0 13 0
2017 0 4 0
2016 0 4 0
2015 1 25 0
2014 0 6 0
2013 0 6 0
2012 0 34 0
2011 0 5 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 York Foss Barrier 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

Frequently asked questions

Is the Browney Dyke at York Foss Barrier flooding today?

The current level is 5.56m, which is within the typical range of 5.07 to 6.95m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at York Foss Barrier?

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. Only about 0.0mm of rain has fallen nearby in the last 7 days, so the flow is being sustained mainly by groundwater. 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 Browney Dyke at York Foss Barrier?

The typical range at this station is 5.07m to 6.95m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 6.95m 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 →