Beware Turner Bend Gauge

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kru1
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Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by kru1 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:15 pm

I've been paddling the Mulberry for well over a decade. Even made a map of it in that time. I've used Brad's gauge from the beginning, and still will. I don't know what happened since the last flood, but it is off by a good bit. I have always deducted .2 of a foot ever since they put that rip rap in just below the gauge (so today should have been more like 2.8 even though the gauge was reading 3'). Today it read 3' and had been in the 3s all week and dropping ~.1' every day. Today we paddled High Bank to Whoop and at 3' on Brad's gauge that section should be prime. It wasn't, it was real low and felt more like a 2.3-2.5 level, and I am leaning more towards 2.3. I was banging down rocks at Jump Start (though there was a clean line I was just trying to catch eddys) and there wasn't any kind of upper wave at Whoop.

The river may adjust itself and Brad's gauge may reflect current conditions, but as of today it is a good .5-.7' lower then what his gauge reads.

kru
I say, and I intend it emphatically, let the river be.
Thomas Hart Benton, on the Buffalo River

Sir Kayakalot
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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by Sir Kayakalot » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:21 pm

Thanks for the heads-up.
We paddled the Grotto to Lancaster run
on the Frog today and experienced the same
thing. The gauge showed 2.7 but we scraped
down, almost had to get out of the boat several
times. I would say it was 2.0 at best.

Tommy

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kru1
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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by kru1 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:27 pm

I've heard the same thing from a few of my friends who hit the Ribbit/Lancaster to Rudy run (recently) when the gauge read 3.5'. They said they were almost scraping down, and 3.5' should be a fairly decent level.

I guess river change course,

kru
I say, and I intend it emphatically, let the river be.
Thomas Hart Benton, on the Buffalo River

prophet
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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by prophet » Mon Jan 18, 2016 6:46 am

considering that the usgs gauge is at approx. 2.0, i would say you are in the ballpark. there used to be a reliable .2-.3 difference between the two on a falling river.

i have thought the usgs has been reading a little "low" for a while though, maybe a few tenths. :crazy:

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magicmike
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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by magicmike » Mon Jan 18, 2016 7:01 pm

There's no way Richland is still 4 ft. Either.-M-
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,it's time to pause and reflect".

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Roger
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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by Roger » Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:01 pm

Could very well be gravel/sedimentation raising the bottom of the stream bed which can impact the reading.
I am I plus my surroundings and if I do not preserve the latter, I do not preserve myself. Jose Ortega Y Gasset

The earth is like a spaceship that didn't come with an operating manual.
Buckminster Fuller

prophet
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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by prophet » Tue Jan 19, 2016 10:28 am

Roger wrote:Could very well be gravel/sedimentation raising the bottom of the stream bed which can impact the reading.
maybe, but TB's technology probably failed

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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by nathan richard » Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:11 pm

From the TB Gauge/Website - "A panther has been spotted in the valley."
Another reason to Beware!

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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by lwe » Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:52 pm

This kind of thing interests me so I reached out to USGS to see what was going on. I received this from them today.

Re: Site Number: 07252000,Mulberry River gages
We had a hydrographer visit the Mulberry River gage today and verify that the gage is reading on. The "painting" seen on the hydrograph is being caused by a new gravel deposit in the area of the gage orifice. The gravel was cleared out as best as possible but may wash back in. When the water is lower we will clean it out better for a more permanent fix. We also made a discharge measurement and found the discharge to be within 2% of the rating. It is possible that the recent high flows have caused changes to the stream that may result in different stage relationships in areas away from the gage.

Thank you for using the USGS stream gages.

Hope this helps with some of the issues.
Wayne
“Most autumns, the water is low from the long dry summer,...but if you go to the river at all, you tend not to mind. You are not in a hurry there; you learned long since not to be.”
― John Graves, Goodbye to a River: A Narrative

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magicmike
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Re: Beware Turner Bend Gauge

Post by magicmike » Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:58 pm

So... Theres a panther painting 2% of the guage with gravel causing all the problems. Got it. I'll pass it on . :thumbup:
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,it's time to pause and reflect".

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