Real-time hydrometry · SETHY station DGH/8078 Waulsort · Ultrasonic gauging · Hourly update
🌊 Real-time Meuse water level and flow at Waulsort
Track the Meuse flow measured at Waulsort, downstream of Dinant, by ultrasonic sensors of the Service Public de Wallonie (SETHY). Instantaneous flow 15.9 m³/s — Low water.
📡 Measurement station — Meuse (Waulsort) 📍
Last update : 29/09 at 17:00
- ⚠️ Flow too low (low water)
📊 Open data — Meuse
Download the Meuse data in JSON or CSV format.
Official sources : SPW Hydrometry · Open Data Wallonia (ODWB) License CC BY 4.0
Reading the flow
What does the current flow mean?
Between summer low water and the great winter floods, the Meuse at Waulsort varies over two orders of magnitude. The highlighted row marks the current reading (15.9 m³/s).
| Flow (m³/s) | Level | State | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 30 | Low water | 🟡 Severe low water | Very low flow (drought). The flow is reduced and shallows are exposed, so watch for wildlife and water quality. |
| 30 – 80 | Low | 🟢 Summer | A moderate flow, typical of the fair season. The river is calm and the water level stable. |
| 80 – 250 | Average flow | 🟢 Normal | A flow close to the multi-year average. The Meuse shows its classic lowland regime, wide and quiet. |
| 250 – 500 | High water | 🔵 Sustained | High seasonal flow (autumn, snowmelt, rain). The current is faster and the water heavily loaded, so be cautious near banks. |
| 500 – 900 | Flood | 🟠 Flood | Flood regime. The water level may rise, so follow the instructions of the hydrological services. |
| > 900 | Major flood | 🔴 Flooding | Exceptional flow. Riverside areas risk flooding, so follow official alerts strictly. |
Visualisation
Flow gauge (0 → 900 m³/s)
Current position: 15.9 m³/s — Low water
The river
The Meuse at Waulsort: a lowland river rather than a torrent
The Meuse is one of the major rivers of Western Europe. It rises at Pouilly-en-Bassigny, on the Langres plateau in France, and runs about 925 kilometres to the North Sea in the Netherlands, after crossing Lorraine, the Ardennes, Wallonia and the Dutch delta. Its catchment is shared between France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, covers nearly 36,000 km² and supplies drinking water to millions of inhabitants. At Waulsort, a district of Hastière just downstream of Dinant and Anseremme, the Meuse has already taken in the Chiers, the Semois, the Houille and the Viroin. It is a wide, deep and slow watercourse, a world away from the lively, stony character of Ardennes rivers like the Semois or the Lesse.
Between Dinant and Hastière, this stretch of the Meuse valley is one of the most spectacular in Belgium. The Meuse winds between limestone cliffs over a hundred metres high: the famous Freyr rocks, a climbing paradise, face the castle and gardens of Freyr, a listed 16th-century jewel. Upstream, Dinant displays its Gothic collegiate church and citadel, while Anseremme marks the confluence of the Lesse, the region's emblematic kayaking river.
Understanding the hydrology of the Meuse
The Meuse is a river with a pluvial regime: its flow depends almost entirely on rainfall over its catchment, without glacial or snow support. Its seasonal variations are therefore very marked. In summer, the flow at Waulsort can drop to 25–40 m³/s — the low-water period, when shared management of the resource becomes a sensitive cross-border issue. With the rains of autumn and winter, on the other hand, the flow easily climbs above 300 m³/s, and the great floods exceed 500 to 900 m³/s. The multi-year average sits around 150 m³/s in this stretch.
The floods have deeply marked the Meuse's memory. December 1993 and January 1995 caused major flooding from Givet to Liège, and the catastrophic floods of July 2021were centred on the Vesdre and the Ourthe, yet they served as a reminder of the destructive power the Meuse basin can reach.
How is this measurement made?
The Waulsort station (SETHY code DGH/8078) is an ultrasonic gauging station. The principle is that probes on both banks send acoustic pulses diagonally across the river. The device computes the average water velocity from the difference in transit time in each direction, and multiplying it by the wetted cross-section gives the flow in cubic metres per second. Large, slow watercourses like the Meuse are particularly well suited to this method.
Measurements are collected continuously by SETHY (the hydrological studies service of the Service Public de Wallonie), and it is released under an Open Data via the KiWIS interface of hydrometrie.wallonie.be, under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence. Our API also lets you retrieve the reading in machine format, via our public JSON endpoint.
Navigating the Meuse at Waulsort
At Waulsort, the Meuse is a large-gauge navigable waterway (CEMT class Va), with locks and weirs managed by the Service Public de Wallonie all along. On it you meet pleasure boats, barges and, in season, the cruise boats running between Dinant and Hastière. As a result, flow does not set a "descent permit" as it does on kayaking rivers, since the structures regulate navigation.
For recreational kayaking or canoeing, the regional reference is not the Meuse itself but its Ardennes tributaries. A few kilometres upstream, the Lesse offers Belgium's most popular descent, from Houyet or from Gendron down to Anseremme. Farther south-east, the Semois unwinds its wild meanders. Checking the water level beforehand is still the best reflex.
The hydrologist's tip
On a river like the Meuse, never judge danger "by eye", since a smooth surface can hide a flow of several hundred m³/s. Trust the figure.
Once flow passes 500 m³/s, check with the waterway manager, as navigation may be restricted or suspended.
Banks are slippery in high water, and the current near the shore is deceptive. Keep your distance, especially with children.
To paddle, prefer the nearby Lesse and check its water level for the day first.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ — Meuse flow and water level
What is the Meuse flow at Waulsort today?
Where is the measurement station located?
Is the Meuse navigable by kayak at Waulsort?
What does a flow rate in m³/s mean?
Why is there no water height or temperature?
At what flow is the Meuse considered to be in flood?
How often is the data updated?
Where does the data come from?
Does the Meuse at Waulsort freeze in winter?
How does the Meuse discharge vary by season?
Can you swim in the Meuse at Waulsort?
Which tributaries of the Meuse in the region are the main ones for kayaking?
Is flooding by the Meuse possible at Waulsort or Dinant?
Why monitor the Meuse discharge?
Is the Meuse an international river?
Paddle right next to Waulsort
The Lesse descent next to the Meuse: kayaking the Lesse
At Waulsort, the Meuse is a navigable river and not a paddling run. A few kilometres upstream, though, at Anseremme, the Lesse the Lesse joins the river at the end of one of Belgium's finest kayak descents. Always check the real-time river levels before booking: with too low a flow the glide is spoiled, and with too high a flow it is dangerous. If you want a livelier current nearby, the Ambleve river and the Ourthe are the Ardennes whitewater references, and our dashboard shows each river live.
Routes from Houyet · Gendron · Anseremme — best price guaranteed live