At MIRC we row on a narrow and protected stretch of the River Medway. The advantage of this is that 90% of the time we are able to row as the river is non tidal and because of its bends the wind gets little chance to effect the river.
The river is however occasionally prone to strong streams and sometimes flooding. Excessive rain will often increase the strength of stream and because of the narrow twisting river we are occasionally forced to restrict the use of the river. To do this we use a traffic light system and follow these guidelines to make our judgement.
Link to the river status posted by the Environment Agency at Allington Lock: http://www.allingtonlock.co.uk
In the case of higher than normal flows the Envirnoment Agency status is either ‘Caution’ (under this the club will usually be on Amber) or ‘Strong Stream’ (under this the club will always be on Red).
For the flow rate of the river there is a Environment Agency flow station around the sewage works bend which gives real time data: https://www.gaugemap.co.uk/#!Detail/9667/5034
Summer flow rates are usually less than 3 cubic meters/second. Club amber status kicks in around 15 cubic meters/second with red when it gets into the high 20s. These flow rates are for guidance only and members should check on the Fit Club boat booking page, or the Facebook members group, where it should say if the club has set the status as Amber or Red.
For wind speed, rainfall and air temperature the following link is very helpful: https://www.windfinder.com/weatherforecast/maidstone
A helpful website to see what the river is doing further up stream is: http://www.riverlevels.uk/medway-maidstone#.VfWdxPlVhBc
Flow rate data from between Teston and East Farleigh (at least one day behind): environment.data.gov.uk/hydrology/station/