Tees barage failure....

[Guest]

BBC News - Concerns after Tees Barrage fault causes water level drop

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-65261533

[Tonka]

54 minutes ago, M_JG said:

BBC News - Concerns after Tees Barrage fault causes water level drop

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-65261533

The article has CRT and Maintenance in the same sentence. Is this a late April Fool

[magpie patrick]

I suspect a system failure rather than a mechanical one - the gates were automatically raised when they shouldn't have been? Not unknown in other places such as the (rather older) automated sluices at Weston Lock in Bath

[Guest]

Nothing to do with this failure but seperately I've noticed a significant longitudinal crack on the road surface that aproaches the barrage on the noth side that seems to be getting worse. (I drive over it regularly as we keep our caravan at the C&MHC site next door).

 

The other day when I crossed I noticed a CRT bod parked up inspecting it, so they would appear to at least be aware of it.

[Alan de Enfield]

9 minutes ago, M_JG said:

Nothing to do with this failure but seperately I've noticed a significant longitudinal crack on the road surface that aproaches the barrage on the noth side that seems to be getting worse. (I drive over it regularly as we keep our caravan at the C&MHC site next door).

 

The other day when I crossed I noticed a CRT bod parked up inspecting it, so they would appear to at least be aware of it.

 

Thats good news at least "they are looking into it".

[David Mack]

Is the barrage there just to maintain an impounded water level upstream, or is it also a flood barrier to keep high tides out? If the latter then a failure to close is more concerning.

I can't get too worked up by the environmental arguments since the whole area would drain down twice a day until less than 30 years ago.

[matty40s]

3 hours ago, M_JG said:

 

 

The other day when I crossed I noticed a CRT bod parked up inspecting it, so they would appear to at least be aware of it.

Oh, a crack, never mind, what's for lunch.....

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Is the barrage there just to maintain an impounded water level upstream, or is it also a flood barrier to keep high tides out? If the latter then a failure to close is more concerning.

I can't get too worked up by the environmental arguments since the whole area would drain down twice a day until less than 30 years ago.

 

Its main purpose is to maintain the river above it at 'high tide' levels and supply water to the adjacent white water course.

 

I would guess it has a role in flood prevention too as it can release water downstream under control rather than when it fails.

Edited April 16, 2023 by M_JG

[Tonka]

1 hour ago, M_JG said:

 

Its main purpose is to maintain the river above it at 'high tide' levels and supply water to the adjacent white water course.

 

I would guess it has a role in flood prevention too as it can release water downstream under control rather than when it fails.

Think the hydro electric that is generated there is more important then the white water course

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Think the hydro electric that is generated there is more important then the white water course

 

Yes have a coconut, they generate leccy using the Archimedes screws used to lift the water to the top of the white water course but use them in reverse.

 

 

I even have a photo...

Edited April 16, 2023 by M_JG

[Tonka]

7 minutes ago, M_JG said:

 

Yes have a coconut, they generate leccy using the Archimedes screws used to lift the water to the top of the course but use them in reverse.

 

 

I even have a photo...

yes i know. I have been there watching my daughter do slalom. Spent a week there once as all the other white water courses were flooded out. Is the Formula 1 hotel still around the corner

[Guest]

Just now, Tonka said:

yes i know. I have been there watching my daughter do slalom. Spent a week there once as all the other white water courses were flooded out. Is the Formula 1 hotel still around the corner

 

There is one of those not far away.

 

The one around the corner is a Premier Inn, with a Beefeater pub. (Next to the C&MHC site where we store the caravan).

[Tonka]

Just now, M_JG said:

 

There is one of those not far away.

 

The one around the corner is a Premier Inn, with a Beefeater pub. (Next to the C&MHC site where we store the caravan).

Stayed there a few times but we had to go to the Formula 1 once and what an experience. just beds in the room, a shared French style toilet in the corridor. Most of their business came from office men out with their floozies during the day

[MoominPapa]

7 hours ago, magpie patrick said:

I suspect a system failure rather than a mechanical one - the gates were automatically raised when they shouldn't have been? Not unknown in other places such as the (rather older) automated sluices at Weston Lock in Bath

A couple of years ago we were in the drydock at Northwich when the control system for the Vale Royal sluices had a bit of brainstorm and emptied the top end of the river in fairly short order. The resulting artificial flood coming backwards through the emptying sluice started to fill the drydock, which caused some consternation. I believe at least one boat was sunk above Vale Royal by the sudden drop in level.

 

MP.

 

[Midnight]

On 16/04/2023 at 18:11, David Mack said:

Is the barrage there just to maintain an impounded water level upstream, or is it also a flood barrier to keep high tides out? If the latter then a failure to close is more concerning.

I can't get too worked up by the environmental arguments since the whole area would drain down twice a day until less than 30 years ago.

 

The barrage was primarily built by the Teesside Development Corporation to prevent flooding up at Yarm. There are sensors all the way down from Worsall (the limit of the old tidal stretch) which control the gates and thereby maintaining the level. It also provided many other benefits for leisure and hydro-electricity. However locals would say the biggest benefit is the constant level through Stockton-on-Tees which has eliminated the twice daily pong and unsightly river bed. As has been mentioned prior to it's opening the river levels dropped twice a day so these claims about fish and silt are a bit thin. 

[Guest]

One further problem the barrier does have is the collection of huge amounts of debris (trees and the like) after heavy rain. There is a large boom across the river before the barrier to prevent reaching the barrier itself (and potentially to stop a boat) but contractors/CRT can often be seen having to clear it.

[David Mack]

4 hours ago, Midnight said:

However locals would say the biggest benefit is the constant level through Stockton-on-Tees which has eliminated the twice daily pong and unsightly river bed. As has been mentioned prior to it's opening the river levels dropped twice a day so these claims about fish and silt are a bit thin

These days the environmental impacts on the inter-tidal habitat would be a strong argument against building a barrier!

[Machpoint005]

21 minutes ago, David Mack said:

These days the environmental impacts on the inter-tidal habitat would be a strong argument against building a barrier!

 

Thing is, one habitat may be lost or reduced in area, but another (or rather, others) would be created. 

 

In general, if we were talking about barrages for electricity generation, the macroscopic benefits to the planet may well outweigh the disbenefits to the local environment. It's a difficult balance to strike -- it always is.