Gauge Nijmegen: current water level and draft

Waal · km 884.87

Measurement430cm05:10 · +10 cm/24hRule of thumb—cmDraft—cm

Water level at the Nijmegen gauge

On 25/10/2026 at 05:10 the Nijmegen gauge read 430 cm, 10 cm higher than 24 hours earlier. Source: Rijkswaterstaat.

Gauge Nijmegen is on the Waal at kilometre 884.87, on the km 867.5–893 stretch.

Fairway depth and rule of thumb

The OLR is 516 cm and the fairway depth aimed for below it (TuOLR) is 280 cm; after a safety margin of 30 cm, the targeted official rule of thumb comes to Nijmegen -266.

In practice Nijmegen -270 is used here, -4 cm against the official rule.

Note that Rijkswaterstaat publishes an MGD (Minst Gepeilde Diepte, least sounded depth). It always takes precedence, and unlike in Germany, no legal rights can be derived from the official rule of thumb.

Forecasts and neighbouring gauges

This gauge has one forecast source: the 5-day forecast from Rijkswaterstaat RWsOS (red). Upstream lies Pannerdense kop, downstream Dodewaard.

Reference planes

The reference planes at the Nijmegen gauge, evaluated at the gauge's position.

OLR+5.16 m NAP
OLR 2022
Area: Vrij afstromende Rijntakken: Boven-Rijn, Waal, Pannerdensch Kanaal, Nederrijn tot Driel, IJssel
Source: Rijkswaterstaat; RWS OLR 2022 report (open.rijkswaterstaat.nl/@253564); RWS Berekening OLW 2025 (CIV DMC, 5 Feb 2026); 2026-02-05

Nijmegen

The shallow section near Nijmegen is the biggest bottleneck for vessels bound for Duisburg. The main problem is the 'hard layer' of riprap dumped on the riverbed between km 883.3 and 885 to widen the fairway for six-barge push-tows. Several vessels have already sprung a leak here. The shallowest part lies at km 884.4 on the left bank in the outer bend (bottom at Gauge Nijmegen - 220 cm), while there is approx. 20 cm more water on the right bank (bottom at Gauge Nijmegen - 200 cm). It is therefore best to cross over from the right to the left bank starting at km 885.4. This is because between km 885.3 and km 886.5 there is an even shallower section on the right bank under the bridge 'De Oversteek' (bottom at Gauge Nijmegen - 280 cm), though this is just sand. On the ECDIS chart, the fairway is drawn completely over this shallow, whereas it is much deeper outside the fairway in the dark blue area on the left bank. Between km 885.4 and km 877.5, the deepest water is on the right bank, up to the shallow section on the right between km 876.3 and 877.3 (bottom at Gauge Nijmegen - 280 cm). Here too, the fairway is drawn completely over the shallow, while it is much deeper outside the fairway on the left bank from the green buoy at km 877.5. Upstream of this is the Erlecom bend, which is full of submerged groynes at the bottom at a minimum depth of Gauge Nijmegen - 200 cm. Vessels have sprung leaks here during overtaking maneuvers because the squat can increase up to 70 cm.

See also the depth charts of the Dutch (and German) Rhine branches at .

Rules of thumb per gauge and port ›