Levels. Here we go again.

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Teddy

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Has anybody else noticed river levels are getting low in some sections? The other week I noticed no water flowing over the weir beside Penton. Needless to say I grounded on something up at Staines in a section normally ok. Lockie agreed levels were low as they had wound in upstream. A few days later the water was flowing again.

Today levels low in the Cookham to Boulters reach. I crept over the shoal below the lock, in neutral showing 0.2m clearance, alarm bleeping. Another near miss. Ralph at Boulters said that Marlow had wound fully in!!

The big question is, where has all the water gone?
 
No significant rain for ages = no water in the river.

The occasional ten minute deluge , while it may seem a lot to you if you are standing under a tree probably doesn't even make it into the river , being absorbed by the aquifers and being used by trees that are in full leaf at the moment.

Quite a lot of the weirs are fully closed at the moment.
 
River levels are monitored by River Control 24/7 , if levels start to approach alarm levels we can send a lock keeper to the site in question should there not be anyone at the particular location.
 
teddington_lock said:
River levels are monitored by River Control 24/7 , if levels start to approach alarm levels we can send a lock keeper to the site in question should there not be anyone at the particular location.
Click to expand...

Aye, but there's the rub - with a well seasoned, experienced resident in control perhaps the reach levels would not approach crisis point?

OK,OK I assume it doesn't work that way, but with someone in post minor adjustments can be made (with the appropriate authority, of course), whereas with no one there the Fat Controller may be tempted to wait a bit (costs 'n all).

(ducks to avoid the inevitable flak......)
 
If it is not a silly question, while we have at least 40 known shoals, why can't the levels be maintained at the upper level of "target". I understand that when the weirs are fully wound in there is not a lot you can do to realise this, but have I not noticed that some fixed weirs can be modified by the addition of boards? I am quite happy to enter a lock when the level is an inch or to above normal. There are very few bridges that would affect most boaters and would be preferable to the number of groundings experienced this year.
 
TrueBlue said:
Aye, but there's the rub - with a well seasoned, experienced resident in control perhaps the reach levels would not approach crisis point?....)
Click to expand...

'Alarm level' doesn't mean that a disaster is about to happen , just that it's about to fall out of target. :)

It's called an alarm level , because it makes river controls computer go beep.
 
Teddy said:
If it is not a silly question, while we have at least 40 known shoals, why can't the levels be maintained at the upper level of "target". I understand that when the weirs are fully wound in there is not a lot you can do to realise this, but have I not noticed that some fixed weirs can be modified by the addition of boards? I am quite happy to enter a lock when the level is an inch or to above normal. There are very few bridges that would affect most boaters and would be preferable to the number of groundings experienced this year.
Click to expand...

Indeed some weirs have what is called 'summer boards' which do just what you say , keep the levels up.

If you take a look at Teddingtons head level at this moment , you will see that we are running at 0.07 or 3 above headwater. We would very much like to be running at 6 above headwater at this time of year , but there just isn't the water around.

http://apps.environment-agency.gov....nId=7268&RegionId=9&AreaId=25&CatchmentId=157
 
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