diff --git a/src/water_scraper_v3.py b/src/water_scraper_v3.py
index 7bab6d9..21b5b52 100644
--- a/src/water_scraper_v3.py
+++ b/src/water_scraper_v3.py
@@ -499,28 +499,71 @@ class EnhancedWaterMonitorScraper:
             logger.error(f"Error getting latest data: {e}")
             return []
     
+    def _check_data_freshness(self, water_data: List[Dict]) -> bool:
+        """Check if the fetched data contains recent/fresh timestamps"""
+        if not water_data:
+            return False
+
+        current_time = datetime.datetime.now()
+
+        # Find the most recent timestamp in the data
+        latest_timestamp = None
+        for data_point in water_data:
+            timestamp = data_point.get('timestamp')
+            if timestamp and (latest_timestamp is None or timestamp > latest_timestamp):
+                latest_timestamp = timestamp
+
+        if latest_timestamp is None:
+            logger.warning("No valid timestamps found in data")
+            return False
+
+        # Check if the latest data is within the last 2 hours
+        time_diff = current_time - latest_timestamp
+        hours_old = time_diff.total_seconds() / 3600
+
+        logger.info(f"Latest data timestamp: {latest_timestamp}, age: {hours_old:.1f} hours")
+
+        # Consider data fresh if it's less than 2 hours old
+        is_fresh = hours_old <= 2.0
+
+        if not is_fresh:
+            logger.warning(f"Data is stale ({hours_old:.1f} hours old), switching to retry mode")
+        else:
+            logger.info(f"Data is fresh ({hours_old:.1f} hours old)")
+
+        return is_fresh
+
     def run_scraping_cycle(self) -> bool:
-        """Run a complete scraping cycle"""
+        """Run a complete scraping cycle with freshness check"""
         logger.info("Starting scraping cycle...")
-        
+
         try:
             # Fetch current data
             water_data = self.fetch_water_data()
             if water_data:
-                success = self.save_to_database(water_data)
-                if success:
-                    logger.info("Scraping cycle completed successfully")
-                    increment_counter("scraping_cycles_successful")
-                    return True
+                # Check if data is fresh/recent
+                is_fresh = self._check_data_freshness(water_data)
+
+                if is_fresh:
+                    success = self.save_to_database(water_data)
+                    if success:
+                        logger.info("Scraping cycle completed successfully with fresh data")
+                        increment_counter("scraping_cycles_successful")
+                        return True
+                    else:
+                        logger.error("Failed to save data")
+                        increment_counter("scraping_cycles_failed")
+                        return False
                 else:
-                    logger.error("Failed to save data")
+                    # Data exists but is stale
+                    logger.warning("Data fetched but is stale - treating as no fresh data available")
                     increment_counter("scraping_cycles_failed")
                     return False
             else:
                 logger.warning("No data fetched")
                 increment_counter("scraping_cycles_failed")
                 return False
-                
+
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Scraping cycle failed: {e}")
             increment_counter("scraping_cycles_failed")