39001 - Thames at Kingston

Grid Reference:51 (TQ) 177 698
Operator:EA
Local number:3400
Catchment Area:9948.0 km2
Level of Station:4.7 mOD
Max. Altitude:330.0 mOD
Mean flow:65.63 m3s-1
95% exceedance (Q95):  7.74 m 3s-1
10% exceedance (Q10):   161.0 m3s-1
61-90 Av. Ann. Rainfall:  706 mm

Sample Hydrograph of Gauged Daily Flows

Flow Duration Curve for Gauged Daily Flows

Station Description

Ultrasonic station commissioned in 1974; multi-path operation from 1986 and back-up ultrasonic installed in 1991. Full range. Lockages not allowed for and high water temperatures can effect gauge performance at low flows. No peak flows pre-1974 when dmfs derived from Teddington weir (a 70m wide complex of gates, sluices, weirs and locks); tailwater rating used for flows >85 cumecs. Significant structural improvements since 1883 but high hydrometric accuracy not achievable for pre-1951 record (leakage and lockages result in underestimation of early low flows; mill operation also evident on early hydrographs. Gauged flow fell to zero in August 1976. 1894 peak gdf re-assessed in 2002 (800 cumecs). Increased channel capacity means that bankfull now very rarely exceeded. Baseflow sustained mainly from the Chalk and the Oolites; flashy response from tributaries draining the clay vales. Some effluent derives from outside the catchment but overall runoff is substantially decreased by major PWS abstractions; daily naturalised flows available.

Catchment Description

Diverse topography, geology and land use which, together with the pattern of water utilisation, has undergone important historical changes.

Factors Affecting Runoff

River Flow and Catchment Rainfall on the National River Flow Archive

Gauged Daily Flows (gdf):1883 to 2008
Naturalised Daily Flows (ndf):1883 to 2008
Naturalised Monthly Flows (nmf):1883 to 2007
Monthly Catchment Rainfall (rnf): 1883 to 2008
                                                                                                                                                   
Datatype1880s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s
gdf                
ndf                
nmf                          
rnf                  
                                                                                                                                                    

For many stations monthly peak flows are also archived. When daily flow data are not available monthly mean flows may be held on the National River Flow Archive. See Data Holdings for further information.


NRFA Home Page     Station Summaries     Regional Maps     Data Holdings