River Heights

Gavi

Gavi

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1 Jun 2006
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Just had a call from my neighbour. The river in Staines has risen considerably in the last hour and her boat has risen above it's mooring. We consciously decided not to try to move it last night after checking floodline (move = onto the mooring where SHikara was vandalised, as was this boat last time she was there... so a move of last resort). Now regretting that decision...

Does anyone know how much water is coming down from Reading to Staines?

p.s. it is interesting to note that they've lived in the area for many years and commented that the changes in river height these days are not normal. But that's another topic /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Its very difficult to predict, but I went down to my boat last night and put on lines in anticpation of the river going up to at least level with the banks, it was about 10inches above normal last night. I didn't see my reach this morning but as I drove over Culham bridge the river was about 3-4feet higher and was just creeping over the fields.

There is a lot of water coming your way /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Sounds as if its significantly worse than anything we experienced last week then?

The problem with the Red and Yellow board system is that its so minimal. Reds, in particular, can be either "just on" Red or a raging torrent!

So much also depends on where you are. For instance, the weir entry above Old Windsor can be an absolute b*st*rd as the pull is so severe.

The weir streams across Sonning Bridge, below Hambledon and below Marsh can also be interesting for newbies.

Windsor Bridge (and to some extent Henley) is a hazard if you havent much height clearance - 5 knots current plus 2-3 knots for steerage way and you'd better make damn sure you really are dead centre and lined up ! And God help you if some ignorati coming upriver don't understand they should give way to downstream traffic.
 
Yes, it rose 10" between 8am and 11am.

I've just cleared our moorings of old fenders, ropes etc. turned over the dingies and tied them up so they float but not downstream! I am very glad that I put two additional mooring posts in when I did.

Have also seen two Coots nests float downstream this morning and it didn't look as though they were enjoying the rider either!
 
Each weir as you work your way downstream is slightly bigger than the one before it ( as you know ) ..

However Teddingtons weir is approximately 50% larger than Moleseys AFAIK , hence Moleseys trigger point to go red ( or yellow ) comes before ours as we will have less gates running compared to theirs.

Our weir is much larger as we have the Mole feeding into our reach. We can be on yellows for some time while Molesey is on red , however the stream appears to be rising quite quickly today.

I should just point out that i am not at work at the moment (and don't live on site) , so can't comment on the state of the river. The guys ring me when we have a board change so i can update the website.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Not wishing to big up the Robo's. But Maidenhead rowing club has a live webcam looking around the river outside the club. Now you can see how much waters heading your way

http://www.maidenheadrc.org.uk/webcam/javacam.htm

[/ QUOTE ]

Their webcam is one of the best on the river. Does anyone know of any others? Incidentally the river at Ashmount has barely been above normal time of year levels and at one stage (obviously run-off) was much lower than drought levels.
 
A webcam at Ashmount would be good /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif although a curfew on it to avoid offending the public, with the sight of drunken ODCC members might be required /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
A webcam at Ashmount would be good /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif although a curfew on it to avoid offending the public, with the sight of drunken ODCC members might be required /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

hey! not just the ODCC there's far more boisterous clubs come here. Joking apart I would love a webcam here but I can't see how it would be possible. Anyway I don't even have to expertise to rig up a CCTV system like Gavi has and all that would be closer to the house.
 
Perhaps some of the marinas on the river can install webcams for the benefits of berthholders.
If Mike Gates is reading this - Can we have one at Bray please.
Hmm might regret this! - Mooring fees might get re-adjusted
 
Bray already has cams in the office, they are so good, they can watch you picking your nose on C pier.

Would rather they spent any spare cash on better Showers, for £20 a night nowhere near as nice as those in St Kats and Chatham. (PH poor too.)
 
Isn't it about time that the EA put flow telemetry on its website ? Then anyone anywhere on the river system can check flow rates and heights. It would be a tremendous safety feature.

Just found some info on flood and draining differentials:
http://www.isco.com/WebProductFiles/Appl...l-time_Data.pdf

It may be a bit out of date in places, but some of the graphs at the end show how the drainage capacity is way below the flood inflow potential. Which may explain how the river has so much gunge in it after heavy rain.
 
A basic IP wireless webcam will cost around £80.00 from Maplin .It will need 12-14 volts to run it or you can use the supplied 240V wall socket that comes with it if you have mains nearbye.
The main problem will be the wi-fi range,but over open fields you may get a few hundred yards with the aid of a directional aerial.suspect house(and your wi-fi ) will be to far away.
You can also monitor the image on your PC and keep an eye on Uncle Albert throwing his empties at the guests in the boozer opposite.

Clicky Ipcam
 
Thanks to the forum as I received no email alert from the EA I drove from work to the boat yesterday evening, river up over the hard mooring, thankfully some kind soul had lengthened my lines. She was floating just above the lip, so hopefully if it drops a little overnight we will be back to safety.
 
a good shout and not yet but will do today. Unfortunately I arrived at the boat yesterday suited and in Italian shoes lol. One of the guys is on the mooring today keeping an eye until I arrive this evening. The way things are going I think we will be asking the yard to install some risers.
 
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