River Thames Current Conditions

[Jennifer]

Hello everyone 

 

We are new to the River Thames and have only recently moved our boat to the Thames so getting used to it all at the moment.

 

We are not currently on the boat due to having to be somewhere else for work reasons I am a bit alarmed about the flood alerts that are coming up in the area in that flooding is possible - be prepared from the flood information service.  We are in the Teddington area is anyone on this forum near there if so how bad is it and should we get to the boat asap or is it normal for this time of year ?  All the boards on the Thames are also red from what I see looking online.

 

We have loosened our ropes and put scaffolding poles on the bank of the mooring to prevent the boat from going on the bank in the event that it rises that high.  However am wondering if there is anything else that we should of done when we are not there and too far away at the moment.

 

It is all very new to us please excuse my lack of knowledge in this area we have been on the Thames for less than a month so we are learning as we go along !!

 

 

[Paringa]

The fact you are aware of the conditions and have made provision to deal with the rise and fall is great.

 

The river level change is more pronounced below a weir, so get above a lock if possible....sounds like you have.

 

This site https://www.gaugemap.co.uk/ will keep you in touch of what is happening to river levels if you are away.

 

Make sure any bilge pump is working and will continue to work.

 

Others nearby will be able to give you specifics on Teddington, but yes this is normal and not extreme.

[Onewheeler]

The EA website shows the level above the lock only fluctuating by about 50 cm in the past few days, other than a 5 m spike which must be a faulty reading. Even the highest level recorded is not much above the recent levels. The recent fluctuations look to be tide related, probably due to sluice closures to prevent downstream flooding.

 

Our Oxford mooring is about 1 m up and seems to have stabilised. It was at least 20 cm higher 2 weeks ago.

 

Martin/

[Jennifer]

36 minutes ago, Paringa said:

The fact you are aware of the conditions and have made provision to deal with the rise and fall is great.

 

The river level change is more pronounced below a weir, so get above a lock if possible....sounds like you have.

 

This site https://www.gaugemap.co.uk/ will keep you in touch of what is happening to river levels if you are away.

 

Make sure any bilge pump is working and will continue to work.

 

Others nearby will be able to give you specifics on Teddington, but yes this is normal and not extreme.

Great thanks for the info

[MtB]

As Paringa says, neighbouring boats will give you chapter and verse about likely level changes, and how loose to keep your lines. Would be worth going back to the boat specifically to ask around about this.

 

Boaters (especially Thames boaters) are generally concerned about all boats not just theirs, so if yours get in trouble it is highly likely someone around will intervene to keep it safe.

 

 

[Jennifer]

18 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

As Paringa says, neighbouring boats will give you chapter and verse about likely level changes, and how loose to keep your lines. Would be worth going back to the boat specifically to ask around about this.

 

Boaters (especially Thames boaters) are generally concerned about all boats not just theirs, so if yours get in trouble it is highly likely someone around will intervene to keep it safe.

 

 

Hi thanks Mike normally we would be around to check it but we are up north at the moment visiting family but will give a few people a call later on to check the boat thanks

[Scholar Gypsy]

The upper tideway (Putney to Richmond & Teddington) is vulnerable to flooding, when there is a combination of strong fresh water flow (about 250 cubic metres a second at the moment) and a very high tide. Most of the alerts are designed to warn people to be careful where they park their cars; if the risk gets beyond a certain level then the Barrier will be shut. 

https://twitter.com/AlanBarrierEA is a useful source to follow on twitter. 

Some car parking advice:  

 

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by Scholar Gypsy

[magnetman]

It was pretty high this morning at Medmenham which is just below Henley. The locks upstream are on an upwards trajectory in terms of levels according to gaugemap graphs. 

 

Taplow flood relief channel is a good indicator of conditions. 25 cumecs at the moment and rising. There is some water about but it doesn't seem too shocking. 

 

It's within banks where my boat is but over some of the lower banks and Hambleden lower layby is submerged. 

 

Another obvious site which is useful is the .gov flood alert site as it has quite detailed maps of where flooding may occur. The flood plain is in orange. 

 

https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/target-area/061WAB23Trowlock

 

That's for Trowlock island which of course is affected by the tide sometimes despite being above Teddington Weir. 

 

That whole reach up to Molesey does go quite high sometimes I remember canoeing along the Barge Walk opposite Kingston as a teenager. A path which is usually considerably higher than the water level. Most of the houses around there with the exception of the islands are on top of quite large river banks. But a boat at the end of a garden could be problematic if the bottom of the garden is lower which is the case in some places around there. 

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by magnetman