Rhine water levels 2023 and similar topics

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, mjz said:

Hi notamermaid, I've been following this thread for awhile now.  I see Kaub referenced a lot.  What's the significance of Kaub?

Unusually, Kaub gauge actually has a Wikipedia page in English. It is needs a tiny bit of updating, but the explanation of the significance is still correct: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaub_gauging_station

 

N.B.: For river cruising we need to look at the draft in a different way, i.e. there is only so much load you can take off a river cruise ship to make it lighter.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

The one thing that weighs a lot but may not have that much on board is believe it or not ‘water’ and it’s one thing they do get rid of to help over a short distance.

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, Canal archive said:

The one thing that weighs a lot but may not have that much on board is believe it or not ‘water’ and it’s one thing they do get rid of to help over a short distance.

That's right, it can be the crucial centimetres in reduction that are needed to be able to sail in low water.

 

In high water situations, proper flooding that is, it is important to note that the decision to sail or not is out of the captain's hands as the authorities have set a level from which they ban river traffic. This is different for the respective stretches of the Rhine that a gauge is the marker for. This is the reason I also look at Maxau. That gauge at Karlsruhe is crucial for the Upper Rhine valley. But for now all good.

 

notamermaid

 

[mjz]

8 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Unusually, Kaub gauge actually has a Wikipedia page in English. It is needs a tiny bit of updating, but the explanation of the significance is still correct: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaub_gauging_station

 

N.B.: For river cruising we need to look at the draft in a different way, i.e. there is only so much load you can take off a river cruise ship to make it lighter.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you for sharing the Wiki.  I learned something new today!

[notamermaid]

There is always something happening on the Rhine, from events at or near the river banks to mishaps like a ferry being obstructed by a stranded barge (very unusual) to minor collisions of barges or tankers (not frequent, but as this is the "water motorway" of mainland Europe an occurrence to be expected sort of regularly statistically). An almost once in a lifetime occurrence is the transport of a submarine. And anticipation of the event is rising. The topic now comes up in the papers online quite a bit. The start of the journey of "U17" at Kiel is planned for tomorrow.

 

A look at the river itself. Kaub gauge shows 224cm. The level may rise a little further today. All in all in the week to come we will have a rise and fall of no real impact for shipping, the margin of error gets wider as we go along in the predictions, but the range of between 150cm and 300cm is a perfect one for sailing, so it looks good well into May.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The "U17" was loaded onto a pontoon yesterday and left Kiel this morning, report from my regional broadcaster SWR: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/u-boot-kommt-von-kiel-nach-speyer-technik-museum-100.html

The issue addressed in the video concerns felling trees for the short land transport, according to the lady from Speyer city council all was considered and the decision made in accordance with regulations.

 

River level at Kaub: margin of error changed, now levels are showing 170cm to 330cm. Still perfect.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[RDVIK2016]

8 hours ago, notamermaid said:

The "U17" was loaded onto a pontoon yesterday and left Kiel this morning, report from my regional broadcaster SWR: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/u-boot-kommt-von-kiel-nach-speyer-technik-museum-100.html

The issue addressed in the video concerns felling trees for the short land transport, according to the lady from Speyer city council all was considered and the decision made in accordance with regulations.

 

River level at Kaub: margin of error changed, now levels are showing 170cm to 330cm. Still perfect.

 

notamermaid

 

 

I have not looked at the precipitation maps, but it was raining heavily on Friday as I drove from Nürnberg to Flughafen München.  You must have got much of that rain in the watershed of the Rhein also. 

 

I will be looking for photos and videos of U17 as she is barged to Speyer.  Sections of submarines frequently come into or leave the shipyard in my hometown, although a complete nuclear powered submarine could not be transported that way. It will be quite a sight to see U17 on the Rhein.

 

This is the way one of our shipments is done:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WVFSmtezyI 

 

[Canal archive]

Absolutely fascinating that barge is towing at a bit of a lick by the looks of things. No way that could be kept under cover or secret squirrel. It is amazing how large bits of machinery are moved around like the wing sections of an Airbus in Bordeaux. The helmsmen that carry out these transports are something else or to paraphrase - needs must so its the devil that drives. 
Thank you for the film clip, let’s hope someone does one with U17 as the star.

[Canal archive]

They have its on youtube will try for the link.

[RDVIK2016]

20 hours ago, Canal archive said:

They have its on youtube will try for the link.

There are already many videos uploaded showing them lifting the U-Boot onto the barge and the beginning of the trip through the Nord-Ostsee Kanal.  Here's one short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3F4jvq2B6A

 

[Canal archive]

RDVIK2016 thank you (note to self must teach myself how to copy links) I love anything like this, well water and engineering, I think it’s all to do with having a dotting seafaring dad. In that clip the juxtaposition of an ex war fairing boat under tow by a tug named Teddy is bizarre.

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, Canal archive said:

In that clip the juxtaposition of an ex war fairing boat under tow by a tug named Teddy is bizarre.

Yes, I chuckled when I read the name Teddy.

 

We had a splendid day here yesterday, ice cream parlours and beer garden packed. I did not venture very far though and partook of neither delicacies. Today is supposed to be a bit cloudier with perhaps rain so I guess more people went out yesterday than today. Having May Day straight after Sunday is of course perfect for long weekend trips.

 

Bonn could do with another mention as two things are notable right now there. First, the Chinese restaurant ship is back from the shipyard: https://www.chinaschiff.de/schiff.html

Second, the Rhine in Flames event at Bonn takes place this coming weekend: https://www.rhein-in-flammen.com/bonn-gb/bonn-gb.html

 

Oh, and the town of Emmerich, at the border with the Netherlands, is happy as A-Rosa from this season regularly stops at the town on an itinerary. But that is a topic for another day and possibly additionally for another thread.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is May, time to have a look at what the river did in April:

 

It has been an interesting month for the fact that we have three peaks at Kaub that are not caused by exactly the same occurrences further upstream. The first wave is smaller at the gauge at Maxau. This high volume of water at Kaub came from the Main river which had flooded. The confluence with the Rhine is downstream from Maxau. This is Maxau for comparison:

 

The Rhine has three large tributaries that can have a considerable impact on the volume of water carried before the river enters the Rhine Gorge, these are the Aare, the Neckar and the Main. This time it was the Main that increased the wave substantially.

 

With this amount of water and figures we can look forward to a good May. Only caveat: if the weather pattern is unfavourable (for river traffic) we may see a short rise at Maxau over the mark relevant for shipping. But that is still only computer modelling i.e. one less likely scenario, which may change in 48 hours.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

A brief look at the river and weather. It is warm, overcast and a bit thundery. Heavy rain with hail is expected around Offenburg (North of Freiburg). The river will rise but the modelling at Maxau has not changed much, if at all I would say a little for the better. Kaub level looking to be in a perfect range over the weekend and all of next week.

 

notamermaid

 

[rjp50]

Thank you for all of this information.  What I am trying to get is a feel for is how much of an anomaly last summer was for riverboat cruises on the Rhine.  We are thinking of booking a cruise on the Rhine and Mosel from Basel down to Belgium the last two weeks of July.  Have you looked at the water levels over the last 10 or so years to have a feel for the probability of another curtailment of river cruises in that time frame?  I know that nothing is certain but if, for example, last year was the only time in the last 10 years that cruising was impacted during that time I can live with those odds.  However if cruising was impacted four or more times I will have second thoughts.  Thanks for any actual data or gut feel that you may have.

[notamermaid]

13 hours ago, rjp50 said:

Thanks for any actual data or gut feel that you may have.

Actual data is a bit difficult to comply for a ten year period but I will have a look around. I have been doing this "river level watching" for about eight years now, so my gut feeling is that last year was an anomaly in that July/August was affected but September/October was not. We nearly always get a tricky few weeks in autumn, but that does not mean ships do not sail, just that it is so low that there is a strong likelihood that ships will not sail at some point in September or October, which ships and for how long is anybody's guess. We have had two years with no to very few days of any river cruise ship not making it through the Rhine Gorge, out of the last ten years I think seven or eight years have had some problems but I only remember two Julys/early Augusts.

 

Again, timelines are archived somewhere but while I have them for Pfelling I am not sure where they are for the Rhine.

 

notamermaid

 

[rjp50]

Notamermaid, thank you for your response.  It was a surprise to me to the hear that September/October is more likely to have problems than July/August.  That's good to know for my planning purposes.

Edited May 7, 2023 by rjp50

[notamermaid]

6 minutes ago, rjp50 said:

It was a surprise to me the hear that September/October is more likely to have problems than July/August.

It is the case as a rule of thumb that July and August are not necessarily the driest months of the year around here. Depends on the weather pattern. Last year was drier than average in summer. And the Rhine has the "natural reservoir" Lake Constance which can buffer a bit.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Actual data is a bit difficult to comply for a ten year period but I will have a look around.

That is supposed to read compile. Anyway, found the stuff. Lots of figures that will give me something to do in the next couple of days. Will post a couple of rows of tables probably.

 

notamermaid

 

[JohnIreland]

 

Live Kaub update from the Viva One.

 

[twototravel]

@notamermaid We have B2B Xmas cruises booked for December - Vienna to Regensburg then Regensburg to Frankfurt on the Danube and then Main rivers. Any thoughts on possible river issues that time of year?

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, twototravel said:

@notamermaid We have B2B Xmas cruises booked for December - Vienna to Regensburg then Regensburg to Frankfurt on the Danube and then Main rivers. Any thoughts on possible river issues that time of year?

Most of the low water issues are gone by beginning of December. Depending on the level in November, i.e. if the rivers end that month on a high, you could get flooding mid to end December. No way of calculating a scenario before mid November. Note that the Main has virtually no low water problems but flooding affects it like any other river. The particular problem on the Main is the low bridges which may keep the ship from sailing more than they do on the Rhine. But I have no experience of details on that. The issue on the Danube is the low bridge at Passau.

 

Hope this helps.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

We have had downpours in the last 48 hours, more than I had expected. The river is already rising as a result but substantial flooding is not yet expected on any major river. The gauge at Maxau is almost on a "rocket trajectory" and will have risen a lot by this evening. Computer modelling for the next four days suggests mild flooding there. We will see how that goes. A marked rise at Kaub and further downstream will be seen only by tomorrow morning, i.e. the river is due to rise during the night when the wave from the Upper Rhine valley reaches the Rhine Gorge.

 

This is the Basel data sheet with graph of current level:

The river went above flood mark I this morning but has fallen again.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by notamermaid

[notamermaid]

On 5/7/2023 at 4:37 AM, rjp50 said:

Thanks for any actual data or gut feel that you may have.

I have looked through the data sheets of figures for Kaub, quite interesting. There are no graphs that I can post but here is some historical data, the daily figures of two months in 2020:

 

The data sheet, a pdf file by the Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde in Koblenz, shows the yearly figures (tons of different values) for Kaub. These are the level figures at the gauge in a daily average. So 185 is July 1st, 207 is July 2nd, etc. Basically, only the two digit numbers are of any relevance for indicating low water and those four below 100 in August are not that much of a concern. Below 90cm can be tricky for sailing but normally no river cruise ship stops sailing at 89cm automatically, all most all sail at a lower level, up to which one is the responsibility of the captain.

 

I checked all other July and August figures. In the years 2008 to 2020, only 2015 (in August), 2018 (end of July and the whole of August (abysmal year)) and 2020 (August) present any figures below 100cm.

 

On average, the months of September in that data are worse than the months of August, but not all months of September go down into the double digits, meaning those that stay above do not have low water (for river cruise ships). So, yes, last year was the odd one out, with August having been way worse than September.

 

notamermaid

 

PS: Submarine U17 is currently in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by notamermaid
added PS

[rjp50]

I appreciate the data.  Very informative post.  Thank you.