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Sub-hourly river flow data observations from 1369 river gauges in the UK, 1948-2023 (UK-Flow15)

This dataset provides a coherent, quality-controlled collection of 15-minute river flow observations from across the United Kingdom. It brings together more than 1,300 gauging stations and over 50,000 station-years of data collected by the main UK measuring authorities - the Environment Agency (England), Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Department for Infrastructure (Northern Ireland), and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The records span from 1948 to the present day and represent the first national-scale compilation of sub-daily flow data in a consistent format. The dataset was created by assembling raw hydrometric records from open APIs and data requests to measuring authorities, then standardising them to a uniform 15-minute time step. A structured quality control framework was applied to identify and flag potential issues such as missing or duplicated values, irregular time steps, and implausible flow events. Each record includes a detailed quality code indicating the outcome of these checks, and a suite of accompanying metadata files provides full traceability of data provenance, quality control results, and any adjustments made during processing. The resource is designed to support large-sample and national-scale hydrological research, particularly for applications requiring high-resolution data such as flood analysis, catchment response studies, and model calibration. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368

Simple

Date (Publication)
2025-10-22
Identifier
https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/id/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368
Identifier
doi: / 10.5285/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368
Other citation details
Fileni, F., Fowler, H.J., Lewis, E., Fry, M., Cooper, H., Swain, O., Coxon, G., McLay, F., Bruce, E., Yang, L., Archer, D. (2025). Sub-hourly river flow data observations from 1369 river gauges in the UK, 1948-2023 (UK-Flow15). NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre 10.5285/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368
Point of contact
  Newcastle University - Felipe Fileni
Author
  Newcastle University - Fileni, F.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7260-1946
Author
  Newcastle University - Fowler, H.J.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8848-3606
Author
  Manchester University - Lewis, E.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7471-9988
Author
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - Fry, M.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1142-4039
Author
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - Cooper, H.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1382-3407
Author
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - Swain, O.
Author
  University of Bristol - Coxon, G.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8837-460X
Author
  Environment Agency - McLay, F.
Author
  Scottish Environment Protection Agency - Bruce, E.
Author
  Northumbria University - Yang, L.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2115-4909
Author
  Newcastle University - Archer, D.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0007-6334
Owner
  Newcastle University
Owner
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Owner
  Environment Agency
Owner
  Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Publisher
  NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
Custodian
  NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
  • Environmental Monitoring Facilities
Access constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
no limitations
Use constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
This resource is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence
Use constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
If you reuse this data, you should cite: Fileni, F., Fowler, H.J., Lewis, E., Fry, M., Cooper, H., Swain, O., Coxon, G., McLay, F., Bruce, E., Yang, L., Archer, D. (2025). Sub-hourly river flow data observations from 1369 river gauges in the UK, 1948-2023 (UK-Flow15). NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre https://doi.org/10.5285/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368
Spatial representation type
textTable Text, table
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Character set
utf8 UTF8
Topic category
  • Environment
  • Inland waters
Begin date
1948-01-01
End date
2023-12-31
N
S
E
W
thumbnail


Unique resource identifier
WGS 84
Distribution format
  • Comma-separated values (CSV) ()

  • png ()

Distributor
  NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
OnLine resource
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Supporting information

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Hierarchy level
dataset Dataset
Other
dataset

Conformance result

Date (Publication)
2010-12-08
Statement
The dataset compiles 15-minute river flow observations from over 1,300 UK gauging stations managed by the Environment Agency, SEPA, NRW, DfI Northern Ireland, and UKCEH. Original field measurements of river stage were made using weirs, flumes, velocity-area methods, and ultrasonic sensors, then converted to discharge (m³ s⁻¹) using rating curves maintained by each authority. Data were accessed via APIs and formal requests, retaining only stations with official NRFA identifiers. All time series were standardised to a uniform 15-minute interval, and duplicate or irregular records were corrected. A structured quality control framework was applied, including consistency checks against NRFA daily and peak-flow datasets, automated anomaly detection, and plausibility tests for high-flow events. Each observation carries a QC code, and metadata files record all processing and assessment steps. Users should consult these metadata to evaluate data suitability for specific analyses.
File identifier
211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368 XML
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Character set
ISO/IEC 8859-1 (also known as Latin 1) 8859 Part 1
Hierarchy level
dataset Dataset
Hierarchy level name
dataset
Date stamp
2025-10-22T14:56:51
Metadata standard name
UK GEMINI
Metadata standard version
2.3
Point of contact
  NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg , Lancaster , LA1 4AP , UK
https://eidc.ac.uk/
 
 

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Keywords

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
Environmental Monitoring Facilities

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