Rainfall across the UK has been abnormally low during spring 2025, with England experiencing the driest spring since 1961. This has led to exceptionally low river flows in north and mid-Wales, the north-west of England and Scotland, including in the FDRI study catchments of the Severn and the Tweed. This presented us with an excellent opportunity to get out into the field and monitor these low flows. 


In the Severn, we carried out our low flow monitoring using the Nuviflow stick, which provides manual water level and velocity measurements. This equipment is ideal for measuring in low flow levels such as those seen during the installation of our upgraded trapezoidal flume from 19-23 May. We experienced a fair bit of turbulence during the data collection so quality checking still needs to be undertaken on the data, but the preliminary results were 39.41 litres per second at the flume site and 35.79 litres per second at the exit of the forest. 

Two men stand in a shallow river with a metal stick to monitor the river flow

Tom Burton and Mark Simpson monitor the low flows in the Severn using the newly acquired Nuviflow stick

A man stands in a shallow river with a metal stick to monitor the river flow

Dr Simon Moulds (University of Edinburgh) monitors the low flows at Talla Water in the Tweed catchment using an Ott M F Pro electro-magnetic current meter

Community Advisory Group member Dr Andrew Black (University of Dundee) also got out into the Tweed catchment on 22 May alongside Dr Simon Moulds (University of Edinburgh) to observe low flows within the catchment; at Talla Water upstream of the Talla reservoir and at Menzion Water. Taking these measurements with the Ott M F Pro electro-magnetic current meter enabled an informal assessment of the severity of the water shortage by comparing the measured flow on the Menzion Burn with 5 years of record obtained in 1948-52; the flow on this occasion was ~25% lower than at any point in the 5 years of record. Further research would enable us to understand the variables that may be contributing to this, such as land use change. 

Rainfall in early June has increased flows, however we will continue to monitor the situation with future spot gauging in the field and continuous monitoring as the summer progresses. This will enable us to compare catchment dynamics and will provide observations we can use to test models.