Just to satisfy my own curiosity, does anyone know how the real time river gauges work.? Anybody know any history or stories about the old cable systems? How they ever installed the new ones well up some of these rugged rivers?

The guages work using a simple formula discharge equals velocity times area. The channel is crossectioned to get a bottom profile, the guages use a pressure transducer to give the water depth. From this an area is generated. A doppler sensor reads velocity. Crankout the equation and you have flow. The stations are linked by satellite or modem to USGS. The cable cars are still used to cross section the channel since the profile will change from scour during high waters.

I guess that kind of makes sense to me. Is all the equipment housed in the tower, anything actually in the river? I assume a station like Whitechuck on the Sauk doesn't have the cable car because of rock bed not being scoured?

I have always wondered what the cable car by my favorite gauging statio n was for!!!

Stupid question time. I know that the gagues tell you what the flow is but what we need is something to tell us what the river looks like. Is it dirty or is it clear. They have the tools to do that but the cost would be out of site. Just a thought. Jim

I'll bet that new ultrasound fish counting system, on a post yesterday, would provide what you want. $80,000 a pop, I think.

Some rivers do have them ... some also give you water temp as well. Seasonally, this is available on high-profile streams ... such as the very one with the ultrasound

It would be easy and fairly cheap to install a turbidity meter to give us fisherman an idea of water color, but USGS has no use for that info.