“Water conditions near me”

Its getting nice out, let’s go paddling?

That is the question. There are many mantras when it comes to deciding to go paddling. One I have heard, shared by Trey Rouss at The Power of Water is PEG: People, Equipment, Gear.

By the way check out the virtual paddling platform they launched called The Connected Paddler for some really immersive top notch virtual instruction.

For today we will chat about Environment. Specifically How’s the water?

There are a few factors that affect a good day on the water (because everyone’s threshold for fun is different). By that I mean I was paddling with someone off the point in Pittsburgh one day in a wet suit, wool cap and gloves. It was 50°, windy, and rainy.

I looked over at the other paddler and he said “this is awesome!” It was awesome.

 

So evaluating the environment before paddling is very specific to where you will be. On whitewater the river gauge and flow are critically important. In ocean settings understanding and tracking tides can make or break an adventure. I will focus on conditions most common in western PA (or similar mostly flatwater in the woods environments).

 

To be very clear we recommend you always paddle with another competent paddler, leave someone a float plan, paddle in conditions you can handle, and think of what you will do when things do not go as planned.

 

For example how do you get back in the boat after a capsize?

 

How warm is it, how is it moving, what is in it? Let’s take a closer look.

 

Water Temperature

The National Center for Cold Water Safety (https://www.coldwatersafety.org/) has excellent resources around paddling in cold water. In addition to real case studies they also support recommendations with scientific research.

For the casual paddler not rocking a wet suit or dry suit water should be above 60 degrees.

How to check that? Well you could drop a thermometer in a little away from shore, but that’s a bit intensive. There is an app called Lake Monster that uses satellite data to estimate water temperature. Not every lake is captured but you can get a general idea of the water temperature locally.

For larger bodies of water the USGS maintains monitoring stations throughout the US that collect data for free remote viewing. We use the temperature gauge at the Allegheny River CW Bill Young Lock and Dam and the temperature gauge at Braddock on the Mon (Monongahela River). From those we can gather a general impression of the local water temperature. There are numerous other reporting locations, though not all measure temperature. We tend to look further upstream when we need a reading and the site we are nearest does not measure temperature.

 

Water Flow rate

While lakes have some movement creeks and rivers have currents. Some creeks and rivers allow you to paddle against the current; others more so quickly you really need to simply paddle (or float) with the current. For this one you really need to understand your local waterway. I have a funny story about that in a second.

NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, monitors flow rates. By that we mean how quickly is the water flowing past one of their installations, measured in KCFS, or thousands of cubic feet per second. For this metric locally we look at the Sharpsburg Lock and Dam and the Ohio River at Pittsburgh.

This one requires some local knowledge to get right. From experience we know that in Downtown Pittsburgh if the gauge reads over 30 kcfs you will feel like you are paddling on a treadmill if not getting swept downstream. For the Mon we look at the gauge height: spikes usually mean faster water since the measured outflow rates vary wildly from one minute to the next.

 

Remember that story I mentioned earlier? So I once went paddling with my family on a newer section of the Yough (Youghiogheny River). I looked at the flow rate and it showed 1.5 kcfs. Pretty slow right? Well we were basically paddling a treadmill that day trying to go upstream. Why you ask? Much depends upon the shape of the river bottom. The Yough is a shallow wide river, meaning water really trucks through there at a slower flow rate. Meanwhile the Allegheny is somewhat deep and really wide compared to the Yough, so 1.5 kcfs on the Allegheny is practically flowing backward if at all.

 

 

Here is the link for the whole Pittsburgh system: https://www.weather.gov/pbz/hydro

So local knowledge is everything with these flow rates. Ask someone who has paddled before or go observe the river and note the gauge reading when you go. Notice how quickly the water is moving especially if there are objects floating along in the main stream.

 

What is in the water

And while we are talking about debris in the water, what are we looking at? Small bits of leaves and trash might indicate a recent flood event (look for spikes in the gauges on the NOAA graphs above). I have seen full size trees float down the larger rivers. These could be a real problem for a paddle craft since they can be hard to see until you are colliding with them or vice versa.

How does the water look? Is it cloudy and moving quickly? Those could also hide hazards. Higher water can create strainers (water flowing through an obstruction that a person/boat will not flow through ergo trapped paddler).

 

In urban areas there could be pollution or poop in the water after a flooding/storm event. Yes I said poop: in Pittsburgh the Allegheny County Sanitation Authority (ALCOSAN) issues SOAK alerts for CSO advisories, or combined sewage overflow advisories.

In a nutshell the sanitation system can only intake so much water for treatment at a time. In a heavy rain event where rain water is entering the system quickly certain drains begin allowing the excess to run into the rivers until the system can catch up. This is a reality with many urban riverside treatment systems.

There is good news: there is a huge undertaking by ALCOSAN going on now, called the Clean Water Plan, to dramatically increase the capacity of the system to reduce CSO events in the future.

Sometimes you can find a webcam of a local waterway to remotely check the water. More than likely you will have to have a look before heading out to decide if paddling is a good idea or inviting an accident. If the water is muddy, filled with debris and moving quickly it’s best to find another day when things have calmed down.

Going with the flow

Spend the time finding out what is normal and what the characteristics of your favorite waterway are before heading out. After some practice you will be able to pick out a day where the water is just fine!

Keep an eye out for our next article on preparing to paddle where I will look to what is above the water: the air.

As always paddle with a buddy in conditions you can handle and leave a float plan with someone on land. Take a class so you can handle yourself.