River Blackwater at Farnborough Water Level

Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Blackwater at Farnborough in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.

About River Blackwater at Farnborough

River Blackwater at Farnborough is a gauged river in England.

Season by season

The seasonal pattern here is modest but clear. The typical highest month is July at 0.72 m (2.36 ft), while the typical lowest month is March at 0.51 m (1.69 ft). That 20.6 cm (8.1 in) annual swing is small enough to matter for shallow margins, culverts, and any intake that sits close to the ordinary waterline, but it is not a wide seasonal range.

For local users, the practical message is timing. Late winter and early spring tend to be the lower part of the cycle, and midsummer is usually higher than that. If you are watching banks, crossings, or a mooring, the difference between those two months is the normal rhythm to plan around.

Records and rises

The station record runs for 32 years, so these figures give a useful sense of what the reach has already shown. The highest level on record is 1.69 m (5.53 ft) in August 2006. The lowest is 0.32 m (1.05 ft) in April 1997.

Those two endpoints set the envelope for the gauge. A summer high can happen here, and the record shows that plainly; the same is true of a very low spring reading. For anyone fishing from the bank or keeping equipment near the edge, the records are a reminder that the river can sit well above or below its seasonal midpoint without warning from the calendar alone.

Reading the hero number

Today’s reading is best judged against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record, not against the raw level alone. A height on its own does not tell you whether the river is acting high, low, or ordinary for the date. The daily median puts the reading beside the range this gauge has built up over more than 32 years.

This station is operated by the Environment Agency. For cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers, that comparison is the useful one: it shows whether the Blackwater is near its usual state for this day, or standing outside it.

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.

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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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