211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368 English ISO/IEC 8859-1 (also known as Latin 1) dataset dataset NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg Lancaster LA1 4AP UK info@eidc.ac.uk https://eidc.ac.uk/ EIDC website The Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) is the UK's national data centre for terrestrial and freshwater sciences. information pointOfContact 2025-11-13T16:20:54 UK GEMINI 2.3 WGS 84 Sub-hourly river flow data observations from 1369 river gauges in the UK, 1948-2023 (UK-Flow15) 2025-10-22 publication https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/id/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368 10.5285/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368 doi: 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 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 Felipe Fileni Newcastle University F.De-Mendonca-Fileni2@newcastle.ac.uk pointOfContact Fileni, F. Newcastle University F.De-Mendonca-Fileni2@newcastle.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7260-1946 ORCID record ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. information author Fowler, H.J. Newcastle University hayley.fowler@newcastle.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8848-3606 ORCID record ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. information author Lewis, E. Manchester University elizabeth.lewis-3@manchester.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7471-9988 ORCID record ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. information author Fry, M. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology enquiries@ceh.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1142-4039 ORCID record ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. information author Cooper, H. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology enquiries@ceh.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1382-3407 ORCID record ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. information author Swain, O. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology enquiries@ceh.ac.uk author Coxon, G. University of Bristol Gemma.Coxon@bristol.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8837-460X ORCID record ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. information author McLay, F. Environment Agency fiona.mclay@environment-agency.gov.uk author Bruce, E. Scottish Environment Protection Agency emma.bruce@sepa.org.uk author Yang, L. Northumbria University longzhi.yang@northumbria.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2115-4909 ORCID record ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. information author Archer, D. Newcastle University davearcher@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0007-6334 ORCID record ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. information author Newcastle University EMAIL NOT PROVIDED owner UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology enquiries@ceh.ac.uk owner Environment Agency EMAIL NOT PROVIDED owner Scottish Environment Protection Agency EMAIL NOT PROVIDED owner NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre info@eidc.ac.uk publisher NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre info@eidc.ac.uk custodian Environmental Monitoring Facilities theme GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-06-01 publication hydrology flow river river water watercourse GEMET - Concepts, version 4.1.3 2019-01-28 creation Hydrology Climate and climate change otherRestrictions no limitations otherRestrictions This resource is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence otherRestrictions 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 textTable English utf8 environment inlandWaters 1948-01-01 2023-12-31 -8.648 1.768 49.864 60.861 Comma-separated values (CSV) png NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre info@eidc.ac.uk distributor https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/datastore/eidchub/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368 Download the data Download a copy of this data fileAccess https://data-package.ceh.ac.uk/sd/211710ac-f01b-4b52-807f-373babb1c368.zip Supporting information Supporting information available to assist in re-use of this dataset information dataset dataset Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08 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.