trouble at the weir

[Kritafo]

So anyone know if they found the other people from the weir yet?



http://www.gov.calgary.ab.ca/citybeat/public/2007/06/release.20070610_211425_27583_0

[TeamBestBud]

Whats a weir

[Toms-SC]

I was out at the Bow yesterday and saw some crazy rafters wearing no life jackets, drinking and running right over the trees and shit floating around.

[l/l/rX]

Originally posted by TeamBestBud
Whats a weir

you know deerfoot trail and 17th ave se...look over into the river and theres that lil bump of water...

ehh i suck at explaining. hahaha

but if you go over that you're fucked, its something about the circulation of water in that area. the flow of water keeps going around in circles in the weir, therefore its nearly impossible to get out of.

something along those lines.

[snowboard]

Originally posted by l/l/rX


you know deerfoot trail and 17th ave se...look over into the river and theres that lil bump of water...

ehh i suck at explaining. hahaha

but if you go over that you're fucked, its something about the circulation of water in that area. the flow of water keeps going around in circles in the weir, therefore its nearly impossible to get out of.

something along those lines.

the wat comes down the wier, and then curls back under itself i belive, just like a rapid but its stronger more smooth of a movement and continuous.
your fucked if you get stuck in it.
like FUCKED.

that sucks :(

[eb0i]

Originally posted by TeamBestBud
Whats a weir

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weir

[TeamBestBud]

Originally posted by l/l/rX


you know deerfoot trail and 17th ave se...look over into the river and theres that lil bump of water...

ehh i suck at explaining. hahaha

but if you go over that you're fucked, its something about the circulation of water in that area. the flow of water keeps going around in circles in the weir, therefore its nearly impossible to get out of.

something along those lines.

Yeah now I know what your talking about...thats fucked.

[l8braker]

RIP

[GoChris]

darwin wins again

[eb0i]

Originally posted by GoChris
darwin wins again

No kidding. Warnings on the radio/tv for (at least) the past week and people still go rafting down the river? Idiots.

[schocker]

Originally posted by GoChris
darwin wins again
:werd: arnt there a ton of signs around warning about the danger of the currents at the weir

[asuth077]

Originally posted by schocker

:werd: arnt there a ton of signs around warning about the danger of the currents at the weir

I heard on the news that the warning buoys were washed away during that storm and hadn't been replaced.

So if you were boating and didn't know the area/weren't paying attention it might have been too late.

[thrasher22]

There are signs all along the river though, not subtle ones either. They pretty much say, "If you keep going, you're fucked". They should have seen it coming. Or how about the big drop in the middle of a river? Common sense would have kept me away from something that loud and blind if nothing else...

[Annoyingrob]

I remember going down the river years ago, and they physically had a snow fence stretched across the river. Don't know if they still have it, but they make it pretty damn hard to go over it.

[liquidboi69]

Originally posted by thrasher22
There are signs all along the river though, not subtle ones either. They pretty much say, "If you keep going, you're fucked". They should have seen it coming. Or how about the big drop in the middle of a river? Common sense would have kept me away from something that loud and blind if nothing else...

The problem with the weir is... u can't see it drop off, it sorta cascades and looks like the river still apparently...

[SJW]

RIP...........

But Darwin definately deserves a visit on this one. Come the fuck on. There are nice big signs there. Bow River + Full Runoff + Weir = Death. The other people are super lucky to be alive.

Make no mistake there will be more drownings on this river this year. I plan on rafting the bow soon but i'm sure as shit to wear a PFD. The river looks innocent but I fish it almost weekly and know so much better. It will fuck you. Be safe n smart people.

[D'z Nutz]

So wait, lemme get this straight... Quebecers aren't invincible??? Weeeeird :nut: Now I wonder if Quebec will sue Alberta because the signs aren't in French

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/55/185800456_b660fd5278.jpg

They probably thought it meant "inner tube ride"

[Benny]

Another problem with the weir is that there's so much crap stuck in the bottom of it a lot of the time. Every once in a while a nice big hunk of tree gets caught in the bottom so instead of just swirling around to a miserable death, you have to get bashed against a tree a couple times first.

[DNSDJS]

Originally posted by Benny
Another problem with the weir is that there's so much crap stuck in the bottom of it a lot of the time. Every once in a while a nice big hunk of tree gets caught in the bottom so instead of just swirling around to a miserable death, you have to get bashed against a tree a couple times first.


How would you know this ?

Come back from the depts of the weir have you?
:bigpimp:

[Schwa]

so the weir is there to keep the water levels upstream higher? for what purpose? what would happen if the weir were just removed?

[adam c]

well since the water level rises with the addition of the weir.. the removal would cause the water levels to 'drop' and we would have 'less' water

[Horatio]

it would erode the riverbank next to Deerfoot Trail for one thing

OK...maybe not too much erosion but....

http://www.harviepassage.ca/about.html

[Jay911]

The weir is there to divert water to the irrigation canal. The weir is just a low-head dam and slows up the water.. the water needs somewhere to go, so the mouth of the irrigation canal starts there and water is forced out into it.

There are plans afoot to redesign the section of river from about the train trestle down to the weir to include some rapids and wading pools. The rapids will have the same effect as the weir as far as the irrigation canal goes, and will turn the area into a water park instead of a death trap.

People call the fire department all the time asking if the river conditions are good for rafting/boating/swimming/whatever. They act all stunned when the 911 operator/fire call evaluator tells them that the FD recommends people NEVER go on the river.

[Fivewayradio]

Totally darwinism at work. One look at how high and muddy that river is and I wouldn't go out in it in a fucking powerboat. There are huge signs on the bridge right before the weir, and along the banks well before that. Those people died due to their own stupidity. I feel sorry for those lives cut so short. But you have to actually use your brain sometimes. It's really tragic to lose people through such an avoidable accident.

[Amysicle]

I'd have to agree with a lot of people on there.

Being new to Calgary and not knowing English is not an excuse. They mentioned to the newspaper that they've gone down the Bow River before, but there was that "boom" stopping them physically from going into the weir and they just expected it to be there despite the unusually high river levels. They knew what was ahead, and even if they couldn't read the sign, the picture of that stick man on the sign should be clear enough.

It's kind of a shame that a few lives were lost, but they had it coming. They chose to go out despite the river conditions, but they didn't wear life jackets (not that it would save them in the weir), they chose to drink (as I'm sure most people do) but they also chose to go past the warning signs and risk their own life for an extra 2 minute ride. They were being completely irresponsible.

They shouldn't have the right to sue the government for not coddling them and protecting them from their own stupidity. They should be forced to pay for the emergency crews, the HAWC1 helicopter, the divers that were trying to search for the good-as-dead morons.

[frozenrice]

Originally posted by schocker

:werd: arnt there a ton of signs around warning about the danger of the currents at the weir

They were from Quebec. The signs aren't in French. Enough said.

RIP

[Ven]

Last Sunday there was a HUGE tree stuck in the pull of the wier, it was actually kind of creepy to watch, the tree was just getting tossed around and ground agaisnt the concrete until the roots were worn smooth. Amazing power. Pretty much no chance of a person getting out.

[Crymson]

They aboslutely should not have the right to sue. You take your own life in your hands when you do anything. If they sue, the next thing you'll see is 500 cops and firemen on the river every saturday and sunday ticketing anyone within 10 feet of the water without a life jacket or with a slurpee full of rum. 2 people died, RIP, but the government owned no responsibility for their lives.

[Benny]

Originally posted by DNSDJS



How would you know this ?

Come back from the depts of the weir have you?
:bigpimp:


Back when I lived in Scotland I knew a group of people who went over a weir in a canoe and miraculously didn't get tossed and die. They said they could actually see all the shit caught in the flow. Apparently if you just aim STRAIGHT down the river and paddle like hell (and I mean like all hell), you can kinda hop most of the danger spot, not that I'm stupid enough to try it, but in theory it makes sense.


Regardless, don't fuck with really unstable rivers and weirs. Case closed.

[929]

Originally posted by frozenrice


They were from Quebec. The signs aren't in French. Enough said.

RIP Yeah, too bad they aren't allowed english in Quebec hey?

[Super_Geo]

Originally posted by 929
Yeah, too bad they aren't allowed english in Quebec hey?

Well they are, it just has to be accompanied by an equal or bigger sign in French. I lived in a small town for a summer about 6 years ago as part of an exchange... Montmagny, population like 12,000, and almost half the townfolk didn't speak a lick of English. Wtf?

[929]

Yeah I've never understood that. I've noticed a lot of people in Europe take english.. we had some german girls who came over to visit and their english was actually really good. They said that it's a "must have if travelling" About that time I whipped out my penis and there was a week of greatness shortly thereafter.

If you think about it, "french" probably shouldn't even be one of our official languages anymore, I bet there are more immigrants that speak a certain language than there are quebecers.