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CRB13
Member
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Posted: May 1, 2009 Post Subject: ecological pulse flow
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| | Why is recreation not recommended for high water days in "May Flows"?
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chris
Site Admin
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| Posted: May 2, 2009 |
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| They're urging caution; they want to make clear that the higher flows are not in any way recommended by them or considered safe. Higher flows tend to cover some features like rocks (making the river seem safer), but on the other hand tend to create other potentially lethal features like long, turbulent wave-trains and keeper holes. It can uproot and move trees. The river is also moving much faster, allowing less time for you to react to danger, and making it harder for your buddies to help you if you do get into trouble. High flows can be a total hoot if you're up for it, but can quickly turn into a nightmare if you're not.
Also, the blue "Project Release" column in the ecological pulse table is just what HHWP can control. Don't forget to add Eleanor spill and SF/MF flows to get Meral's Pool flow. During a warm rain event or a heat wave, those flows could be arbitrarily high. In that case, the Meral's Pool flow could be thousands of cfs higher than what's shown in the "Project Release" column.
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CRB13
Member
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| Thanks for the thorough answer. I riverboarded the spike of the pulse last year and found the rapidly rising water gave the features an entirely different character than natural high flows. Waves rose and broke like the ocean, eddies pulsed and vanished. We stopped to drain a kayak and the beach went from high and dry to ankle deep. There was also a large amount of wood in the water which added an extra deadly element to the big holes. Pinball was truly terrifying as we could hear and feel the rocks moving in the rapid as we ran it. We had a blast but by the end of the day I had exactly enough.
High water is a hoot, but safety first. Thanks.
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