Rhine at Kaub: water level today

Kaub, at Rhine km 546 between Mainz and Koblenz, sits on the shallowest reach of the free-flowing Middle Rhine. Loaded barges bound for the industrial southwest have to pass it, so this one gauge sets loading limits — and low-water surcharges — for much of Rhine freight.

Water level

34 cm

at gauge, September 15 at 2 PM UTC

Vs. GlW low-water mark

−43 cm

GlW is 77 cm; below it, full loading ends

Discharge

581 m³/s

flow past Kaub, 2026-09-15

Official forecast

19 cm

lowest forecast level through 09/19 (WSV)

Last 30 days, with the official forecast

Hourly water level at Kaub over the last 30 days (solid) and the official WSV forecast (dashed), in centimeters at the gauge. Dashed horizontal lines are WSV's published reference marks; NNW is the lowest low water in the gauge's published statistics.

This is record-low territory: readings this month, down to 5 cm, are below the lowest low water in WSV's published statistics for the gauge (NNW, 25 cm).

What the number means

The reading is centimeters above Kaub's local gauge zero (67.669 m above sea level (NHN), set 2019-11-01) — it is not the depth of the river. Even at GlW, the maintained fairway is 1.90 m deep; what a low reading kills is the margin that lets a barge load fully. Shippers add low-water surcharges as the level falls toward GlW and lighten loads below it, which is why every Rhine freight story quotes this gauge.

Every official reference mark

Mark	Level (cm)	Meaning	Today
NNW	25	Lowest low water in the published gauge statistics	9 above
MNW	65	Mean low water (average of yearly lows)	31 below
GlW	77	Equivalent low water — the agreed low-water reference; below it, fairway depth is no longer guaranteed and barges sail partly loaded	43 below
MW	208	Mean water level	174 below
M I	460	High-water Mark I — speed and position restrictions apply	426 below
MHW	544	Mean high water (average of yearly highs)	510 below
M II	640	High-water Mark II — navigation is suspended	606 below
HSW	640	Highest navigable water level — navigation ceases above it	606 below
HW	719	Highest momentary water level in the published gauge statistics	685 below
HHW	825	Highest high water in the published gauge statistics	791 below

Marks are WSV's published characteristic values for the Kaub gauge. GlW and HSW are the two that move markets: below GlW, fairway depth is no longer guaranteed; above HSW, navigation stops. Marks I and II are the high-water restriction levels.

Data: PEGELONLINE (WSV), license DL-DE Zero 2.0; 15-minute raw readings, archived hourly here nightly. Forecast: WSV's official water-level forecast series for Kaub. All Rhine, Moselle, Main and Danube gauges: river levels today.