River Kent at Bowston Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Kent at Bowston in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
- Location England, United Kingdom
- Primary gauge ea-730120 (Environment Agency)
About River Kent at Bowston
River Kent at Bowston is a gauged river in England.
The river
With no watershed name attached to this station, the useful picture is the reach itself and its seasonal rhythm. For a river like this in temperate hydrology, the high water period is usually in the colder months, and the lower water period is usually in early summer.
Here, the record high level is 1.64 m (5.38 ft), set in December 2015. The record low level is 0.1 m (0.32 ft), reached in June 2010. That spread tells you this gauge has seen a wide range of conditions, so a mooring, crossing, or intake at Bowston needs to handle both ends of the scale.
The seasonal pattern is straightforward. The highest typical month is December at 0.33 m (1.09 ft), while the lowest typical month is June at 0.17 m (0.56 ft). The typical annual swing is 16.1 cm (6.3 in). For cottagers and anglers, that means the river usually gives more water at the end of the year and less in early summer, with enough change to matter for access and bank-side conditions.
This station has 27 years on record, so the monthly pattern has enough history behind it to be useful for planning rather than just for curiosity.
What the numbers say
The main number on the page is there to show where today sits relative to the usual level for this calendar day, not just where the water stands at this moment. That comparison is better than raw elevation because a level can look high or low only in the context of the season. A reading near the median for the date is ordinary for this gauge; one well above or below it is the part worth paying attention to.
At Bowston, the seasonal range is modest compared with the record spread, so day-to-day changes can still matter even when the river is not near either extreme. The Environment Agency monitors this station.
Reading the hero number
Use the hero number as a quick check on whether today is running above or below the typical level for this date. For a river with 27 years on record, that is usually the fastest way to judge whether conditions are moving toward the December side of the pattern or back toward the June side.
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
