It's been a long time since the whole Thames had been in full flood.

 

Usually sections of it go from amber to red to amber as the water takes several days to work its way down

 

issued today by the EA:

 

The whole of the River Thames is on red boards. When red boards are displayed we advise all craft not to navigate.

 

 

 

Due to high levels and flows, most lock laybys are underwater and the following locks are inoperable:

 

 

 

Iffley Lock – planned investment winter closure

 

Abingdon Lock –planned investment winter closure

 

Whitchurch Lock – planned investment winter closure

 

Marlow Lock – planned investment winter closure

 

Old Windsor Lock – planned investment winter closure

 

Penton Hook Lock – planned investment winter closure

 

 

 

In addition to these planned closures the following locks are closed for operational reasons:

 

 

 

Rushey Lock – lock sluices open to reduce impact of flooding

 

Sandford Lock – lock sluices open to reduce impact of flooding

 

Culham Lock – water overtopping headgates

 

Shiplake Lock - water overtopping headgates

Picture of Thames ar Abingdon from IWA/EA Twitter feed:

 

https://twitter.com/IWA_UK/status/273142692547022849/photo/1

 

A friend of mine lives in the cottage next to the roundhouse at Inglesham and the pictures he is putting up on Facebook are scary.

 

Tim

Edited November 26, 201213 yr by Tim Lewis

This was the scene at Abingdon rowing club yesterday morning. Still rising this evening so wonder if it'll flood the clubhouse like in 2007...

 

Yello,

 

Well I'm moored in the weir stream at Bell Weir, Runnymede ..... with 9 out of 9 gates wide open ..... my pontoon is completely submerged and even the far end of my scaffold boards temporary gang plank is submerged !

 

Malc.

The towpath and moorings by Tescos in Reading is underwater. Hard to judge the flow in the dark but I'd say 10mph was a fair guess.

I'll have a look at Caversham between the bridges in an hour or two.

What a mess!

Good luck everyone.

Stay safe.

The section between the bridges in Reading is still a foot below the bank on the Reading side, but Caversham weir is barely visible. The downstream lock gate is open, the upstream paddles fully raised and the level in the lock is less than a foot below the river upstream. All sluices opened on the weir.Pretty tame compared to some of the pictures I've seen on this site over the last week but still worse than I've seen the Thames in the last couple of years.

Edited November 27, 201213 yr by JDR

LBC www.lbc.co.uk are discussing this now.

I was chatting to a lockie last night.

 

Every thing that can be open is open. It's now up to the various flood relief schemes and defence systems

 

Even if it stops raining today, they're still expecting it to continue rising for another 2 days

 

Yello,

 

Well I'm moored in the weir stream at Bell Weir, Runnymede ..... with 9 out of 9 gates wide open ..... my pontoon is completely submerged and even the far end of my scaffold boards temporary gang plank is submerged !

 

Malc.

 

 

Take care guys! x

Nice graph of the last 48 hours at Cookham lock

 

 

I'm not there but its my favourite place so I keep an eye on it

 

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/riverstation.aspx?StationId=7162&RegionId=9&AreaId=22&CatchmentId=138

Nice graph of the last 48 hours at Cookham lock

 

 

I'm not there but its my favourite place so I keep an eye on it

 

http://www.environme...CatchmentId=138

 

I do the same with Eynsham

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/136495.aspx?stationId=7049

From the 'unfolding thread'

 

Henley on Thames web cam-

 

I was chatting to a lockie last night.

 

Every thing that can be open is open. It's now up to the various flood relief schemes and defence systems

 

Even if it stops raining today, they're still expecting it to continue rising for another 2 days

 

 

I wont be surprised if the flood relief defences top over up here on the Lee either and they are huge, deep channels. If it goes over it'll flood a housing estate.

Maidenhead Rowing Club reports higher flow rates on several occasions during the 2009/10 winter.

 

Of course, flow rates and water levels are not exactly the same thing.

Picture of Thames ar Abingdon from IWA/EA Twitter feed:

 

https://twitter.com/...7022849/photo/1

 

A friend of mine lives in the cottage next to the roundhouse at Inglesham and the pictures he is putting up on Facebook are scary.

 

Tim

 

 

Now THAT is what the red boards should be for!

 

MtB

I was chatting to a lockie last night.

 

Every thing that can be open is open. It's now up to the various flood relief schemes and defence systems

 

Even if it stops raining today, they're still expecting it to continue rising for another 2 days

 

 

Shit!

 

Yello,

 

Well I'm moored in the weir stream at Bell Weir, Runnymede ..... with 9 out of 9 gates wide open ..... my pontoon is completely submerged and even the far end of my scaffold boards temporary gang plank is submerged !

 

Malc.

 

I'm a couple of miles upstream from you and I'm not looking forward to more water.

 

 

They keep saying it's going to stop raining, but when?

They keep saying it's going to stop raining, but when?

 

21st December

 

But that will be the least of a our problems....

 

http://www.december212012.com/

Edited November 27, 201213 yr by The Dog House

21st December

 

But that will be the least of a our problems....

 

http://www.december212012.com/

 

Right, ok...

 

I thought that was last year?

 

Yes but that was a different end of the world - this is the real thing -

 

Locusts, plague, earthquakes, the full monty including preceding massive floods....

 

oh hang on a minute..

Right, ok...

 

I thought that was last year?

 

nope 21st may he judged the world, 21st December he said it will all end in tears

Yes but that was a different end of the world - this is the real thing -

 

Locusts, plague, earthquakes, the full monty including preceding massive floods....

 

oh hang on a minute..

 

I'd better start making some signs...

 

 

What I don't quite understand is that if you go to the EA website is shows a flood alert for my area between Datchet and Shepperton, but if you scroll down and go into the detailed view it states "no flood alert" for Old Windsor & Wraysbury where I am.

 

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/34681.aspx?area=061WAF23Datchet&page=2&type=River&term=thames

 

The water level looks very close to some properties to me - I thought the website was supposed to provide an advance warning, but it hasn't been updated since Saturday evening. Does this mean that the EA are confident of stabilising river levels in the "no warning" stretches?

Edited November 27, 201213 yr by blackrose

All reaches will have different characteristics. Bell weir head water level is here, with a line indicating where flooding will start

Boat house now flooded at Abingdon RC Still rising...

 

Bell weir http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/riverstation.aspx?StationId=7171&RegionId=9&AreaId=22&CatchmentId=138