Real-time hydrometry · SETHY station DGH/8078 Waulsort · Ultrasonic gauging · Hourly update
Track the Meuse flow measured downstream of Dinant, at Waulsort, by the ultrasonic sensors of the Service Public de Wallonie (SETHY). Instantaneous flow 58.0 m³/s — Low flow (summer).
📡 Measurement station — Meuse (Waulsort) 📍
Last update : 07/06 am30 00:30
Reading the flow
At Waulsort the Meuse spans two orders of magnitude between summer low water and the great winter floods. The highlighted row shows the current reading (58.0 m³/s).
| Flow (m³/s) | Level | State | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 30 | Low water | 🟡 Severe low water | Very low flow (drought). Reduced flow, shallows exposed; vigilance for wildlife and water quality. |
| 30 – 80 | Low | 🟢 Summer | Moderate flow, typical of the fair season. Calm river, stable water level. |
| 80 – 250 | Average flow | 🟢 Normal | 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). Faster current and loaded water; caution near banks. |
| 500 – 900 | Flood | 🟠 Flood | Flood regime. Rise of the water level possible; follow the instructions of the hydrological services. |
| > 900 | Major flood | 🔴 Flooding | Exceptional flow. Risk of flooding of riverside areas; strictly follow official alerts. |
Visualisation
Current position: 58.0 m³/s — Low flow (summer)
The river
The Meuse is one of the major rivers of Western Europe. Rising at Pouilly-en-Bassigny, on the Langres plateau in France, it runs about 925 kilometres before reaching the North Sea in the Netherlands, having crossed Lorraine, the Ardennes, Wallonia and the Dutch delta. Its catchment, 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: a wide, deep and slow watercourse, a world away from the lively, stony character of Ardennes rivers like the Semois or the Lesse.
This stretch of the Meuse valley, between Dinant and Hastière, 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 unfolds its Gothic collegiate church and citadel, while Anseremme marks the confluence of the Lesse, the region's emblematic kayaking river.
The Meuse is a river with a pluvial regime: its flow depends almost entirely on rainfall over its catchment, with no glacial or snow support. As a result, its seasonal variations are very marked. In summer, the flow at Waulsort can drop to 25–40 m³/s — the low-water period, when the shared management of the resource becomes a sensitive cross-border issue. Conversely, with autumn and winter rains, 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 2021, though centred on the Vesdre and the Ourthe, were a reminder of the destructive power the Meuse basin can reach.
The Waulsort station (SETHY code DGH/8078) is an ultrasonic gauging station. The principle: probes on both banks send acoustic pulses diagonally across the river. From the difference in transit time in each direction, the device computes the average water velocity, which, multiplied by the wetted cross-section, gives the flow in cubic metres per second. This method is particularly suited to large, slow watercourses like the Meuse.
Measurements are collected continuously by SETHY (the hydrological studies service of the Service Public de Wallonie) and released as Open Data via the KiWIS interface of hydrometrie.wallonie.be, under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence. You can also retrieve the reading in machine format via our public JSON endpoint.
At Waulsort, the Meuse is a large-gauge navigable waterway (CEMT class Va), lined with locks and weirs managed by the Service Public de Wallonie. You meet pleasure boats, barges and, in season, the cruise boats running between Dinant and Hastière. Flow does not therefore condition a "descent permit" as on kayaking rivers: navigation is regulated by the structures.
For recreational kayaking or canoeing, it is not the Meuse itself but its Ardennes tributaries that are the regional reference. A few kilometres upstream, the Lesse offers Belgium's most popular descent, from Houyet or Gendron down to Anseremme. Further south-east, the Semois unwinds its wild meanders. Checking the water level beforehand remains the best reflex.
On a river like the Meuse, never judge danger "by eye": a smooth surface can hide a flow of several hundred m³/s. Trust the figure.
Above 500 m³/s, check with the waterway manager: navigation may be restricted or suspended.
In high water, banks are slippery and the shore current 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
Paddle right next to Waulsort
The Meuse at Waulsort is a navigable river, not a paddling run — but a few kilometres upstream, at Anseremme, the Lesse joins the river at the end of one of Belgium's finest kayak descents. Before booking, always check the real-time river levels: too low a flow spoils the glide, too high makes it dangerous. For a livelier current nearby, the Ambleve river and the Ourthe are the Ardennes whitewater references — our dashboard shows each river live.
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