River Lee at Harpenden Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Lee at Harpenden in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
- Location England, United Kingdom
- Primary gauge ea-4650TH (Environment Agency)
About River Lee at Harpenden
River Lee at Harpenden is a gauged river in England.
Season by season
This reach is highest in January, when the typical level is 0.87 m (2.86 ft), and lowest in August at 0.79 m (2.6 ft). That is a modest seasonal range, but it still matters for a footbridge, a bank intake, or a mooring line that has to sit through winter and late summer. The typical annual swing is 8.2 cm (3.2 in), so day-to-day changes here are usually smaller than the broad winter-to-summer pattern.
The regional hydrology note fits that pattern: temperate rivers often run higher in the colder months and ease back in summer. For someone watching the river from the bank, January and August are the two levels to keep in mind first.
Records and rises
The record high is 1.31 m (4.3 ft), set in February 2001. The record low is 0.35 m (1.15 ft), set in October 2001. Those two marks show the span this gauge has seen over 26 years of record.
That record range gives useful context for anglers and cottagers. A river can sit near its seasonal norm for long stretches, then still reach a level well outside that norm when conditions shift. The February 2001 high is the upper edge of what this station has measured; the October 2001 low is the lower edge.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is most useful when you compare today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station record, not just with the raw height in isolation. A level by itself says little unless you know what is normal for this date.
At River Lee at Harpenden, that comparison is grounded in more than 26 years of record. The Environment Agency is the operating agency behind this station.
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
