River Churn at South Cerney Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Churn at South Cerney in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
- Location England, United Kingdom
- Primary gauge ea-0278TH (Environment Agency)
About River Churn at South Cerney
River Churn at South Cerney is a gauged river in England.
The watershed
This station sits on the River Churn reach at South Cerney, and the record here runs back 20 years. For anyone watching a bank, dock, or low crossing, that is enough time to see the range this water can reach across seasons.
The monthly pattern is clear. January is the highest month, with a typical level of 0.88 m (2.9 ft), while September is the lowest month, with a typical level of 0.39 m (1.28 ft). That seasonal swing is not small: the typical annual swing is 49.5 cm (19.5 in). In practice, that means the river can ask for different habits through the year, from cautious mooring to more attention on shallow margins.
The extremes give the outer edges of what has been seen at this gauge. The record high is 1.39 m (4.57 ft), from December 2012. The record low is 0.15 m (0.5 ft), from October 2022. Those numbers matter because they show the reach has moved well beyond its usual monthly levels in both directions.
What the numbers say
The pattern fits temperate hydrology: higher water tends to arrive in the colder part of the year, and lower water in late summer. Here, the highest month is January and the lowest is September. That is the sort of range anglers read when choosing access points, and cottagers read when deciding how much slack to leave at the edge of a landing or pump line.
The record high from December 2012 sits above the January typical level by a clear margin, and the record low from October 2022 sits below the September typical level. Those are useful comparisons because they show how far the river can move away from the ordinary seasonal pattern that people usually plan around.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading, set against the median for this calendar day across the station’s 20 years of record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is acting higher or lower than it usually does on this same day, not just where the surface sits in metres.
This station is operated by the Environment Agency, so the reading is tied to that local record. For day-to-day use, the median helps separate ordinary seasonal level from a reading that is high or low for the date itself.
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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