Sample Image Stocks Reservoir (north-west England) during the 1995 drought

A Gauging Station A gauging station on the River Salwarpe (near Droitwich)

 

The National River Flow Archive

The UK National River Flow Archive (NRFA) provides stewardship for, and access to, records of over 50,000 individual years of daily and monthly river flow data, deriving from over 1,300 gauging stations. These hydrological data underpin the sustainable exploitation and management of water resources and river systems in the UK.

The data are derived from a network of gauging stations, run principally by the Environment Agency in England and Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and in Northern Ireland, the Rivers Agency. The flow data held in the NRFA, supported by monthly catchment rainfall totals (mostly derived from data provided by The Met Office) are made available through a comprehensive retrieval service and are used in a number of national monitoring programmes and major research projects.

The National River Flow Archive is maintained by CEH at Wallingford and its utility is increased by close co-operation with the National Groundwater Level Archive maintained by the British Geological Survey. Both archives are major components in the National Water Archive - one of seven Designated Data Centres operated by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Click below for details of a range of NRFA activities and services:

Acknowledgements

Effective stewardship of the National River Flow Archive relies heavily on the active co-operation of many organisations and individuals involved in the acquisition, processing and validation of hydrometric data: this co-operation is the key to maximising the utility of nationally archived hydrological data.

A full list of data suppliers is given in the Directory of Measuring Authorities.

NERC acknowledges and extends its appreciation to all who assist in the collection, processing and validation of the data incorporated in the NRFA.