A new and efficient method is described for obtaining field measurements of surf zone mean water levels. The method applies manometer tubes rather than the traditional pressure transducers, and hence makes is unnecessary to survey the vertical positions of the ''sensors.'' A substantial data base is obtained which, apart from quantitative data for the field site and similar beaches, gives clear, general indications of where previous wave setup models need to be amended. It is clear from the data that while traditional seup models work reasonably well seaward of the still water line the most landward part of the mean water surface (on fairly steep beaches at least) requires radically different models. It is still possible, however, to obtain reasonable estimates of the shoreline setup by tying together the concepts of setup and runup and utilizing presently available empirical formulae for the maximum runup level. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988