Ford Brook at Walsall Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Ford Brook at Walsall in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
- Location England, United Kingdom
- Primary gauge ea-4200 (Environment Agency)
About Ford Brook at Walsall
Ford Brook at Walsall is a gauged river in England.
The watershed
This station has 24 years on record with the Environment Agency. The brook is watched here as a local gauge, so the numbers describe this reach rather than a larger drainage area.
For people living near the water, the main pattern is seasonal. The highest typical month is January at 0.21 m (0.68 ft), while the lowest typical month is September at 0.13 m (0.44 ft). That is a typical annual swing of 7.5 cm (3 in), which is modest but still enough to matter for low banks, intakes, and shallow crossings.
The record range is wider than the seasonal average. The highest level on record is 1.36 m (4.47 ft) in May 2018, and the lowest is 0.01 m (0.02 ft) in May 2002. Those two points show how far the brook can move outside its usual band.
What the numbers say
The seasonal shape fits a temperate river: higher water in winter, lower water in late summer. Here the January typical level sits above September, so anglers and cottagers should expect more margin over bars and edges in winter, then shallower water later in the season.
The record high in May 2018 is the number to keep in mind when water is climbing fast. The record low in May 2002 shows that this brook can fall to very low levels too, which matters for shallow habitat and any small intake near the bank.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is best read against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not against a raw stage value on its own. That comparison shows whether Ford Brook is running above, below, or near its usual level for today.
With 24 years on record, the daily median gives more context than a single reading because it filters out the normal day-to-day seasonality. On a brook with a small typical swing, even a modest departure from the median can matter to someone checking access, bank height, or local flood watch conditions.
How this page is built
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Alerts that watch the water for you
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Where Nibi comes from
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Coverage
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
Free forever, funded by members
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
