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 Topic:  River flow green light is so, so wrong! 

Forums -> Flows -> River flow green light is so, so wrong! Page 1 of 1
Posted to flow site: Boise - At Glenwood BridgeLatest PostNext TopicPrev Topic
 Author  Message 
sistermagoo
Member
Posted: Jun 4, 2017Post Subject: River flow green light is so, so wrong!
The Boise River at Glenwood is at flood stage at 9500 cfs. Do not get on the river under any circumstance! Does anyone know how to contact Dreamflows to correct this information. It might lead to someone getting killed.
chris
Site Admin
Posted: Jun 4, 2017Post Subject: Re: River flow green light is so, so wrong!
sistermagoo wrote:
Does anyone know how to contact Dreamflows to correct this information.


The home page says "Email comments, and suggestions for improvement, to chris@dreamflows.com". So email me and we'll fix this.
chris
Site Admin
Posted: Jun 4, 2017Post Subject: Re: River flow green light is so, so wrong!
sistermagoo wrote:
The Boise River at Glenwood is at flood stage at 9500 cfs. Do not get on the river under any circumstance! ... It might lead to someone getting killed.


Responding to the above part of the original post ... the color codings that Dreamflows uses always come from somewhere (guidebooks usually).  In the case of Boise - At Glenwood Bridge, there's only one associated entry on the cross-listing page for Idaho, and that's the 36th Street Wave which is referenced by Rick Fernald and Colby Blewett on page 12 of their "The Playboater's Guide To Idaho" guidebook. They give the flow range as "From around 4,500 cfs and up". The book has a photo of the 36th Street Wave being surfed at 12,000 cfs. The kayaker (Blake Reichel) looks perfectly in control, and not about to get killed. So, Dreamflows gives the flow range as 4,500 to 12,000 cfs. Sounds reasonable, no?

But that's only for the 36th Street Wave. Note also that it's usually not possible to assign a single color coding to a given gauge that will be appropriate for all runs served by that gauge. Bottom line: don't make the mistake of assuming that either the flow range or the color coding applies to the section of river that you are planning to paddle, because it may well not. Also, be sure to take into account your craft type, experience level and skill set.

Also remember that flows can change at short notice, and that gauges frequently report bad data. All in all: never rely solely on online information, and always check out the river yourself before putting on.
Edited once.  Last edited by chris Jun 4, 2017.
Forums -> Flows -> River flow green light is so, so wrong! Page 1 of 1