Tom Groggin crossing over the next few days
Submitted: Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 18:33
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Mike Harding
I know there are a number of people intending to cross the
Murray River at
Tom Groggin around the Xmas period, we have had a _lot_ of rain in Victoria recently and today's
Melbourne downpours are currently on their way to the Upper Murray catchment. The following link is the Murray height at Biggara which is about 30km downstream from TG:
Murray at Biggara
it's currently (6.15pm Vic time) at about 1.2m and I don't think it will have to rise much more before TG becomes very difficult if not impassible. For people who do cross; take a wide arc downstream do not travel straight across between entry and exit.
Mike Harding
Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 20:52
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 20:52
Mike,
Thank you for the heads up on the
river crossing.
I will be down that way next week and hope to cross the Murray on New Years Day.
It is alarming how many drivers go straight across the river instead of the down stream arc.
Wayne
AnswerID:
278004
Reply By: Davo_60 - Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 22:15
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 22:15
Hello Mike and Wayne,
I am just wondering if the downstream arc path is specific to the
Tom Groggin crossing or is this a common tactic for most crossings? I know you should walk them etc but just interested to know if this is generic advice.
Thanks,
Dave
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Mike Harding - Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 22:23
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 22:23
Hi Dave
No, just for
Tom Groggin. Each crossing varies and, as you say, should ideally be walked first.
Mike Harding
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Follow Up By: Wayne (NSW) - Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 23:11
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 at 23:11
Dave,
Walking first is the only way to check a river before crossing, but in most cases a arc on the down stream side is usually the best path to take.
I have crossed a few other
river crossing like the Murray in the
Vic High Country
Wayne
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Follow Up By: Davo_60 - Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 at 09:42
Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 at 09:42
Thanks for the info.
Cheers,
Dave
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542081
Reply By: pt_nomad - Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 at 07:45
Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 at 07:45
Hi Mike,
The data feed for the BOM site plot comes from the NSW Department of
Water and Energy. Using the DWE site you can get a longer term picture. You can also view historical data to get an idea of river depths on your earlier crossings.
The plots on this site also show cumulative rainfall - at the station not the catchment.
The site is :
http://waterinfo.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/browse.epl?site=401012
Some comments from thread 36794
If you want to keep an eye on what the
murray river level is doing, here is a link to a
water monitoring sire that is located about 40km down stream from
tom groggin Site Link -
Murray river at Biggara – 401012. The plot will be in local staff gauge datum – so don’t be fooled into thinking that the scale on the
water level plot it is the dept of the
water – it aint.
Reading the plot you will give you a feel for how quickly the river falls after rain and how quickly it responds to rain (they always rise fast and fall slow). Rain in the catchment may not necessarily show in the Biggera sites rain gauge. If you watch the river level plot over the next few months it will also give you an idea on how much snow melt / catchment discharge is elevating the base flow levels. If you play with the advanced ‘form options’, you can create a river level plot of many months or years and then determine the level in prior years for comparison to the level when its time for your trip.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Mike Harding - Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 at 14:58
Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 at 14:58
Thanks for that PT, an interesting data set.
I hadn't really thought about the datum but it has to be local if we think about it - either that or height above S/L. I was looking at the trend and it's relationship to the flood levels more than an absolute height and, of course, the height at Biggara would be different to TG anyway.
What is really interesting though is that the river is currently about 2 to 3 times the height it was when I crossed it about one month ago (although it's now falling). That would mean it is probably somewhere in the order of 1 to 1.5m at TG - a deep crossing. May be worth
camping up for a day or so and letting it drop. If you're coming from the west you don't have a lot of choice :)
Mike Harding
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 at 08:53
Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 at 08:53
And ALWAYS always walk the crossing first unless its a High Country crossing you've seen someone cross before you and can see the bottom. If the
water's up to the Jatz Crackers, then take extra precautions like a
water blind unless your snorkelled up. Even then I would drag something across the front for deeper crossings
AnswerID:
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