Rhine water levels 2018 and similar topics

[Wannawander]

https://www.bafg.de/EN/06_Info_Service/01_WaterLevels/waterlevels_node.h

Check this out. It looks like Koblenz is up to 73 cm.

[notamermaid]

Thank you

 

here is a big thank you to you all for your thanks, smilies and reading my posts. It is so great to be able to take you along in this unhappy situation and hopefully help some cruisers. I realize I do make some prospective cruisers nervous and I hope you forgive me for that.

And I would like to say thank you to all who contribute, especially those taking the time to post from their actual travels.

:):):)

 

 

 

 

Now onto practical matters and hopefully less nervousness. A couple of posters have already mentioned that the river levels have risen. More than the experts had predicted a good week ago... A slight fall has occurred but we are on an overall better level than we were 6 days ago.

 

I have made a screen shot for you and put it in the cloud, it shows you the development of the last 31 days: https://screenshots.firefox.com/zc65I0sTJGPCs4xh/www.pegelonline.wsv.de

Currently Maxau is at 377cm, Kaub at 73cm, Koblenz at 66cm.

Downstream from there the levels are rising with Cologne looking better. But Emmerich on the border to the Netherlands is still very low. As I have mentioned before, the impact for river cruise ships in that area is low.

The Netherlands still feel it though, drought and reduced loads on barges. This is how they record the water level there (it is different from the German Rhine authorities' measures and gauges): https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/08/rhine-shipping-reduced-as-river-registers-lowest-ever-recorded-level/

Talking of the lower Rhine and Emmerich: a curiosity and a nice "by-product" of the unfortunate situation we have is the re-appearance of the shipwreck "De Hoop". It sank around there 123 years ago and every time it is exposed by drought a little bit more of it has disappeared, i.e. planks gone, or disappears right then when exposed. The former is due to flooding, the latter due to souvenir hunters. They say the souvenir hunters take more of it than the flooding does... This is a German article but it has got a nice photo: http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/bonn/stadt-bonn/Niedrigwasser-im-Rhein-f%C3%B6rdert-Erstaunliches-zutage-article3927241.html

The article also mentions WWII ammunition of course (never touch anything that looks suspicious) and part of a tooth of a mammoth found in Düsseldorf.

notamermaid

 

Edited August 28, 2018 by notamermaid
added link

[Boswalls]

I’d like to add my thanks, Notamermaid.

Not sure I really understand all the data but it is comforting when levels appear to increase.

We’re due to travel with Scenic from Basel to Amsterdam leaving Basel,on September 3rd. Are ships moving in and out of Basel? The Rhine Gorge looks dreadfully empty of shipping still

Kind regards

[notamermaid]

Welcome to the river cruising forum, Boswalls. And thank you.

 

 

I admit, the figures do not mean that much in themselves as they are basically something attached at a specific point on the river on a wall. Sort of. They need to be related to the depth of the river channel or, in absence of knowing that, onto themselves as they increase or decrease. Hence the graph I put in the cloud. On the left, the figures 50 to 90 are the gauge. On the base from left to right are the dates. So looking from left to right you follow the graph going down until the 24th of August from when it increases again. The graph is of Koblenz where the navigation channel is 2.10m. On the graph the line saying Glw represents that depth. For river cruise sailing being slightly under that line is ok but figures of 65 or under are really low and while just about being ok in Koblenz itself, hinder sailing in the Rhine gorge, depending on ship. Sailing, by the way, is never officially stopped in drought. It is onto the captains (and ship owners) themselves to judge whether they can sail or not.

 

 

Ships do sail in and out of Basel alright as the navigation channel is deep there but sailing downstream they can run into problems after the last lock at Iffezheim. Your river cruise ship could sail out of Basel but you might not get on it in Amsterdam! I.e. a ship swap along the way... See posts of past cruisers further up.

 

 

Oh, and here is such a gauging station, in Koblenz it is: http://undine.bafg.de/rhein/pegel/rhein_pegel_koblenz.html You can see it well when walking along the embankment and has even got a restaurant in it! I have never eaten there, so cannot tell you what it is like, but the view is great. http://voap.restaurant-pegelhaus.de/

 

 

 

notamermaid

[jo-b]

notamermaid is there no end to your talents, hydrology, tourism and now restaurants too!!

[notamermaid]

jo-b,

 

Thank you. (Seriously embarrassed, blushing, trying to hide under my keyboard, etc). Just in case anyone is wondering: I am completely useless at building anything out of raw materials. Build a shed in my backyard and you have my thanks and admiration. :D

 

 

And while I am here: Maxau 376cm, Kaub 75cm, Koblenz 66cm. The river experts tentatively predict that the river level at Maxau will not fall below 360cm again in the foreseeable future (here to mean 3 September).

 

notamermaid

[jpintrepid]

We are on the Viking Tialfi at Rudesheim, having left Basel on Saturday headed for Amsterdam. Originally we were to have been on the Alruna, but she could not make Basel in time so Viking substituted the Tialfi. We learned last night while docked at Kehl (for Strasbourg) that the decision had been taken that we would not have to switch ships and would go straight through to Amsterdam. The river levels are up a bit, hence the decision to go on. However, in a chat with the Captain earlier today I learned that rain was not expected and that levels would there fall — so we, in effect, lucked out. For those worrying about their chances, be assured that Viking will do everything in its power to give you a good cruise. This morning we saw two Viking ships, only minutes apart, going upstream, and the Captain told us Viking were doing this in order to have ships in the right places in case they needed them. It’s a good company, the ships are lovely, and the cruise has been everything we hoped.

[j7654321]

I’d like to add my thanks, Notamermaid.

Not sure I really understand all the data but it is comforting when levels appear to increase.

We’re due to travel with Scenic from Basel to Amsterdam leaving Basel,on September 3rd. Are ships moving in and out of Basel? The Rhine Gorge looks dreadfully empty of shipping still

Kind regards

 

We will be on our first Scenic, Jewel, sailing from Basel on Sep 3rd as well.

 

Wish us good luck!

Jeff

[j7654321]

Welcome to the river cruising forum, Boswalls. And thank you.

 

 

I admit, the figures do not mean that much in themselves as they are basically something attached at a specific point on the river on a wall. Sort of. They need to be related to the depth of the river channel or, in absence of knowing that, onto themselves as they increase or decrease. Hence the graph I put in the cloud. On the left, the figures 50 to 90 are the gauge. On the base from left to right are the dates. So looking from left to right you follow the graph going down until the 24th of August from when it increases again. The graph is of Koblenz where the navigation channel is 2.10m. On the graph the line saying Glw represents that depth. For river cruise sailing being slightly under that line is ok but figures of 65 or under are really low and while just about being ok in Koblenz itself, hinder sailing in the Rhine gorge, depending on ship. Sailing, by the way, is never officially stopped in drought. It is onto the captains (and ship owners) themselves to judge whether they can sail or not.

 

 

Ships do sail in and out of Basel alright as the navigation channel is deep there but sailing downstream they can run into problems after the last lock at Iffezheim. Your river cruise ship could sail out of Basel but you might not get on it in Amsterdam! I.e. a ship swap along the way... See posts of past cruisers further up.

 

 

Oh, and here is such a gauging station, in Koblenz it is: http://undine.bafg.de/rhein/pegel/rhein_pegel_koblenz.html You can see it well when walking along the embankment and has even got a restaurant in it! I have never eaten there, so cannot tell you what it is like, but the view is great. http://voap.restaurant-pegelhaus.de/

 

 

 

notamermaid

 

I'd like to add my thank you to Notamermaid as well.

[Shappy]

We are currently on the Avalon Visionary from Amsterdam en route to Cologne. Although the water levels are low we are doing just fine and were told the first 8 days (day 3 now) would be no issue. We’ll have to wait and see how Breisach is. But so far it has been nothing but spectacular’to all the people who are watching and reading. Don’t worry too much!!!!!

 

Thanks for the update! We sail on the Avalon Visionary on October 11 same itinerary.

[notamermaid]

Good morning.

 

 

The bad news: The river levels have fallen a bit. Maxau is at 366cm and therefore under its Glw. Kaub is still very low at 72cm (not having changed much actually) and is under its respective Glw - a fact that has greater impact than the current figures of Maxau and Koblenz. Koblenz is at 66cm and under its Glw.

 

 

Downstream, from Cologne to Emmerich the figures are finally reflecting the last rainfall, i.e. they have risen but are still low.

 

 

The good news: the forecast for rain has changed and more is now expected, starting with thunderstorms in the Upper Rhine valley later today. More rain is forecast for day after tomorrow. Accordingly the predictions for the river level at Maxau have gone up. Hopefully this will provide a bit of "safety padding" before another drop in water levels. 400cm is envisaged on the graph. Sounds good.

 

 

notamermaid

[Boswalls]

Thanks for the updates,Notamermaid, especially the good news:D

If nothing else my knowledge of places along the Rhine is increasing.

I have spoken with Scenic several times over the past 10 days but I am none the wiser at to what ou optiins are likely to be.Yesterday I asked about a ship change but despite being told that that is what Scenic does, as there are no Scenic vessels on the Basel side of the Gorge, I cannot see that is could happen if Jewel cannot get through.

My other concern is that the Scenic Office in UK doesn’t work weekends so no hope of getting any info after Friday when I will ring them again.

Hey ho!

Kind regards

Anne

[jo-b]

Fingers crossed Anne, do let us know how you get on

[Boswalls]

We will be on our first Scenic, Jewel, sailing from Basel on Sep 3rd as well.

 

Wish us good luck!

Jeff

Just to say that I have spoken with Scenic Swiss office who tell me that Jewel had no problems getting down to A from B and that apart from being 3 hours late in Cologne today, all is OK. It is raining in Basel with more rain expected. Elena from the Swiss office says they have not experienced, nor are they expecting, any serious disruptions. The Swiss office mans the emergency number found in the Scenic booklet and can be contacted for updates over the weekend.

Hope all the stress turns out to be unwarranted and look forward to meeting you onboard next week, Jeff

Kind regards

Anne

[cruising denise]

Good news from the Rhine as well. The Viking Hlin got the green light yesterday morning to sail on through to Basel, completing our route from Amsterdam. Today was a beautiful afternoon cruising the Rhine Gorge although now we are getting some rain - great timing for the much-needed rain as we have already spent all day outside until now!

 

We were also delayed getting into Cologne due to low water, causing "traffic backups" on the river. However Viking handled it great. We were given quite short notice that we were leaving 30 minutes sooner than planned on our buses to get into Cologne while the ship sailed on slowly to its dock. This had always been the plan, only change that we disembarked in Düsseldorf instead of Zons. While this was a bit of a fire drill to get ready on time, it was great in that it was a well improvised plan to provide us with all the time in Cologne that had been planned for. Viking team is doing a great job given the tricky conditions. Good luck to all of you sailing soon, I certainly wish you all very enjoyable sailing! This will be my last post during the trip - internet is a bit spotty and slow, and I''ve given you the good news we had so hopefully the other Rhine cruisers will do just as well! (And I'm seeing more rain in the forecast downriver from here, bad for touring but we are well prepared and the River surely needs it!)

[cruising denise]

Oh I know I promised last post! But I do want to mention that it is very apparent, even to those of us who have never been on the Rhine before, just how low the water levels are. Let's definitely all hope for a pleasant yet rainy, and cool, autumn, and lots of snow this winter (or, notamermaid, perhaps on behalf of you locals, we should not wish you such a winter!!). In any case, a lot more water into the rivers.

Born voyage all!

[cruising denise]

Ugh, lost internet just as I was about to post! I know I promised no more posts from me, but I did want to mention how apparent it is, even to those of us who have never before been on the Rhine, how very low the water level is. Notamermaid and everyone else dependent on these rivers, I wish you all sufficiently rainy and cool fall to replenish the water levels - I'd wish you a snowy winter, too, but maybe that is a little mean of a wish to a person who has been so helpful to all of us!

[CHAMPDDS]

Thanks to all with the updates...we depart on Sept 12th, B-->A on Viking Idi so I have been following the water levels posts closely for our first river cruise....Obviously it is what it is, but I am curious how far in advance Viking makes decisions on itinerary changes?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

David

[Norvig]

Thanks Notamermaid for the news, good & bad, Honetsy is the best policy. I still don’t understand the numbers but watch for them to go up. Ie Koblenz has increased to 66 cm. Will keep praying for rain.

[j7654321]

Just to say that I have spoken with Scenic Swiss office who tell me that Jewel had no problems getting down to A from B and that apart from being 3 hours late in Cologne today, all is OK. It is raining in Basel with more rain expected. Elena from the Swiss office says they have not experienced, nor are they expecting, any serious disruptions. The Swiss office mans the emergency number found in the Scenic booklet and can be contacted for updates over the weekend.

Hope all the stress turns out to be unwarranted and look forward to meeting you onboard next week, Jeff

Kind regards

Anne

 

We are leaving for Zurich via London tomorrow. Hope Jewel can make its way to Zurich. See you on board, Anne.

 

Regards,

Anna & Jeff

[Boswalls]

We are leaving for Zurich via London tomorrow. Hope Jewel can make its way to Zurich. See you on board, Anne.

 

Regards,

Anna & Jeff

Jewel in Basel will do!

Enjoy Zurich

Safe trip

Kind regards

Anne & Robin

[RJKAJ]

I'm a little worried - we are sailing from Basel to Amsterdam on Sept 5 on the Scenic Opal. If the position on Cruisemapper is correct the Opal is not even to Weisbaden yet on its trip to Budapest where it should be on August 16. It then has to return to Amsterdam and then sail to Basel by Sept 5th.

Does anyone know if Cruisemapper is accurate?

Have any Scenic trips been cancelled?

 

We are to travel on the Jasper, Sept. 5 from Amsterdam to Basel. We have been told that the Jasper has been put on another itinerary and that we will be put on another boat. We were able to get this information from Scenic by insisting on speaking to someone who could comment on the situation.

 

You can use this site to check Scenic boat location http://www.anyoverip.de/scenic/index.php?ship=Opal&d=29&m=08&y=2018. I believe Cruisemapper is accurate as well. There are water issues at Passau and at the Rhine Gorge which is affecting boat traffic.

 

There is some rain in the forecast. Hope you have a successful trip.

[ibdiver002]

Thanks to all providing current information on water levels, delays, etc. on the Rhine. We are leaving Amsterdam on 18 September on the Viking Herja bound for Basel. Fingers crossed for some Rhine Valley rain to bring up the water levels.

[notamermaid]

Rain was hammering against my windows last night, it was quite windy and this morning I woke up to an overcast sky. It is slowly brightening up now. The river levels (of the three I always post) have reacted little for the better, Koblenz being the best: Maxau 368cm, Kaub 73cm, Koblenz 81cm. The prediction for rising levels at Maxau has been toned down a bit, but a rise is still expected for today with the 400cm being reached on 2nd September possibly, after that a slight fall is likely. We really need it to feed the Rhine gorge, but for a substantial rise we also need a better supply from the tributaries Neckar and Main, i.e. rain in the regions adjoining the Rhine valley. The current levels actually mean that there is a good chance of the navigation channels having their desired depths of 2.10m, 1,90m and 2.10m at Maxau, Kaub and Koblenz respectively! Apart from some gravel deposits. Those are seen to if necessary, a digger is currently in operation in the navigation channel at Neuwied, downstream from Koblenz, for example.

 

 

The much better news is of course coming from cruising denise. So good to read you were able to use "your own" ship for sailing through the Rhine gorge. With rising levels on the lower Rhine the delays between Cologne and Amsterdam could be reduced soon as well, but the barge traffic will keep being heavy as they still need much more water under the keel to load more cargo.

 

 

cruising denise, thank you for your wishes and I do not mind a bit of snow :), especially as I do not need to drive to work in a car early in the morning. It might be better not to wish steamboats and G.M.T. in Bavaria much snow, they already get more than us so a snowy winter (for them) might not be so appreciated. :D ;)

 

 

A relative told me earlier this month: " you can walk across to Urmitzer Werth". So I wanted to see that for myself and with a bit of time I had a trip out on 18th August. I did not walk across, but can confirm that one can (although one is not supposed to as it is a nature reserve). Urmitzer Werth is a river island facing the village of Urmitz at river kilometre 602 on the left bank downstream from Koblenz. I took a photo standing on the railway line bridge that crosses the Rhine, in this areal photo courtesy of wikipedia visible further above from the island: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urmitz#/media/File:Urmitz_002x.jpg Does not nature look green, full of life and the river, well, full of water? Wait for my recent photo: https://send.firefox.com/share/b01682141e

On the left of the island is the navigation channel, on the right is the completely dried out riverbed.

Sorry about the upload format. The file lasts for only 24 hours. Perhaps I will figure out a better way.

 

Hopefully things will improve now, with overall lower temperatures, and as we have heard Viking ships are now getting through (for the time being). Improvements will be slow though if we do not get consistently good amounts of rain, so to be brutally honest and bearing in mind what some captains have hinted at, locals think and weather experts are tentatively telling us - I am nervously awaiting the 9th update of the BAfG institute -, jumps for joy are not that high yet, and rain dances are still appreciated. :)

 

notamermaid

[avidesiurc]

Thanks for the updates,Notamermaid, especially the good news:D

If nothing else my knowledge of places along the Rhine is increasing.

I have spoken with Scenic several times over the past 10 days but I am none the wiser at to what ou optiins are likely to be.Yesterday I asked about a ship change but despite being told that that is what Scenic does, as there are no Scenic vessels on the Basel side of the Gorge, I cannot see that is could happen if Jewel cannot get through.

My other concern is that the Scenic Office in UK doesn’t work weekends so no hope of getting any info after Friday when I will ring them again.

Hey ho!

Kind regards

Anne

 

 

Here is a link to track locations of all Scenic ships:

http://www.anyoverip.de/scenic/index.php?ship=all&d=30&m=08&y=2018

 

Also, I had some luck with Scenic via emails.