Illegal estuary opening observed by EstuaryWatch volunteers.  Water level was 1.6m AHD at the  time. 

Heavy overnight rain in the hills caused flooding on the Barham River Rd upstream of Conns Lane. Mt Sabine recorded 97mm but only 17 mm fell in Marengo.

The estuary height at 08.45 was 1.915m AHD.

At 17.00 the water level had fallen only slightly.

01/10/2021 at noon the estuary height was 1.4mAHD. Significant sediment had been deposited.

An area of vegetation that had become established in recent years inside the river mouth on the SW side was swept away.

The SE storm had removed sand from the beach lowering the beach profile by nearly 2 metres just SW of the GOR bridge. This allowed the sea to erode the old dunes in that area.

A rain event got the estuary height to 1.50mAHD at 15.45 on the 01/05/2020. The strong river flow cleared out sand  and at 15.00 on the 06/05/2020 the estuary height had fallen to 0.60mAHD. The lowest for the year.

West winds prior to 09.30 on the 01/04/2020 when the Barham river mouth is closed. The estuary height is 1.24m, the berm clearance is 0.1m and there is a light E breeze.

On the 02/04/2020 at 16.00 the estuary height is 1.34m. An artificial opening has been attempted.

On 03/04/2020 at 10.00 the river mouth is newly opened and the estuary height is 1.42m AHD.

On the 08/04/2020 at 17.30  the estuary height is 0.78m which is the first observation below 0.80m this year. Sand carting NE to SW across the river mouth for dune replenishment has meant on return there has been plentiful sand in and around the river mouth. In the last 12 years the highest base estuary height for an extended period had been 0.73mAHD and that was noticeably unusual.

Regular rainfall this 2019/20 season has kept the Barham river streamflow healthy discouraging river mouth closures.

On the 17/01/2020 at 15.30 the Barham river mouth is closed. The sea conditions are smooth to slight and the estuary height is 0.92mAHD.

18/01/2020 at 09.30 there is slight to moderate messy seas caused by an E wind. Estuary height is 1.0m.

19/01/2020 at 10.00 there is a moderate SE wind, berm clearance of 0.1m and the estuary height is1.04m.

20/01/2020 at 08.45 the river mouth is open and the estuary height is 0.90mAHD

On the 11/01/2020 there was strong SW winds. At 17.00 on the 12/01/2020 the Barham river mouth is closed, the estuary height is 1.02mAHD and the wind has abatted.

13/01/2020 at 10.50 the river mouth is open and the estuary height is 1.04mAHD.

Before and after the the Barham river mouth closure the base estuary height was 0.8mAHD or above.

24-04-2019 at 10.00 the Barham River mouth is closed. Seas are smooth and the Estuary height is 1.28m.

30-04-2019 at 17.00 the river mouth has remained closed and the Estuary height is now !.82m.

02-05-2019 at 10.30 the Estuary height is now 1.895m.

03-05-2019 at 10.45 there has been a natural river mouth opening and the estuary height has fallen to 0.96m.

09-04-2019 11.00 the Barham River mouth is closed and the estuary height is 1.54m. The wind is a fresh Westerly and the seas are rough. High tide is at 14.30. At 17.00 the estuary height is 1.64m and the berm clearance is 0.15m.

10-04-2019 at 09.00 the river mouth has naturally opened and the estuary height has fallen to 1.34m.

14/03/2019 at 16.30 the Barham river mouth is closed. Seas are slight and the estuary height is 1.51m.  The closure would have happened 4 to 6 days prior to this date.

15/03/2019 the estuary height is 1.55m and the berm clearance is 0.25m.

20/03/2019 at noon the estuary height is 1.64m.

22/03/2019 at 14.30 the estuary height is 1.92m. Seas are slight and it is a light E wind. At 17.50 the estuary height is 1.935m and there is an artificial opening but at this time  it is not working, there is no flow out. Berm clearance is less than 0.1m. Reports of greater rainfall totals in the hills than on the coast.

23/03/2019, the river mouth is open into slight seas and a fresh  N wind. The estuary height is 0.7m.

Photos taken when the Estuary height is 1.935m.

23/02/2019 at 12.30 the Barham river mouth is closed and the estuary height is 1.03m.

27/02/2019 at 10.30 the estuary height is1.21m, the berm clearance is 0.1m and the Paradise river gauge is low and at 0.177m.

01/03/2019 at 17.30 the estuary height is 1.30m.

02/03/2019 at 09.15 the river mouth is open to smooth seas with a fresh N wind. The estuary height is 0.82m.

Low river flows have been a dominant factor in this seasons river mouth closures to this date.

09/02/2019 at 09.30 the Barham river mouth has closed. Slight seas and a fresh to strong SW wind. The estuary height is 1.1m.

11/02/2019 the estuary height is 1.40m but the berm clearance is minimal.

12/02/2019 at 18.30 the estuary height is 1.52m. Berm clearance is 0.25m. Sea conditions are moderate to rough.

17/02/2019 at 09.45 the estuary height is 1.80m and the berm clearance is 0.1m.

18/02/2019 at noon the estuary height is 1.81m and there is a failed artificial river mouth opening. The Paradise river flow gauge is at 0.190m.

19/02/2019 the estuary height is1.82m.

20/02/2019 at 09.45 the river mouth is open into slight seas with a moderate W wind. The estuary height is 0.91m.

15/01/1019 at 10.00 the Barham river mouth is closed, seas are slight aand a light E breeze. Berm has minimal clearance. The estuary height is 0.83m. The Paradise river gauge is 0.202m.

23/01/2019 the estuary height is 1.08m and the river gauge is 0..188m.

28/01/2019 at 17.30 the river mouth is closed but with zero berm clearance. Estuary height is 1.34m.

29/01/2019 there are moderate seas.

31/01/2019 the estuary height is 1.45m.

07/02/2019 the estuary height is 1.575m.

08/02/2019 at  18.30  the river mouth has opened into smooth seas and the estuary height is 1.538m.

13/12/2018 at 18.15 the Barham river mouth is closed, seas are slight and a gentle NW breeze. Berm clearance is 0.1m and the estuary height is 1.02m.

14/12/2018 at 14.45 the river mouth is just open. Flow is out into rough seas and a strong Easterly wind.The Estuary height is 1.44m.

Later at 18.15 the river mouth is still open but estuary height is 1.48m. Tide is going out.

13/12/2018 at 08.30 the Paradise river flow gauge is at 0.228m. On 14/12/2018 at 11.15 the river gauge is at 0.30m.

09/12/2018 the Barham river mouth is closed, a light breeze and slight seas. The estuary height is 0.98m. The Paradise river flow gauge is at 0.23m.

11/12/2018 the river mouth is closed and the estuary height is 1.20m.

12/12/2018 at 15.00 the river mouth is open, water flowing out to smooth seas. The estuary height is 0.96m.

At 13.00 the Barham river mouth is closed with minimal berm clearance. The seas are rough with gale force West winds. The estuary height is approximately 1.25 m.

The following day, the 04/12/2018 the river mouth is open and the estuary height is 1.12m.

Even against moderate river flow the strong Westerly weather has made this the 3rd short term river mouth closure for the new season.

The chances of a closure may have been increased by dune replenishment works. Sand from the harbour [NE of the river mouth] has been trucked to the SW of the river mouth to rebuild the dune supporting the Great Ocean Road. That area of the dune is vulnerable to SE storms especially.  Of note the sand from the harbour has tested as being 50% fine sand while the original dune in that area was 30% fine sand. There may be an increase in the amount of sand travelling past the river mouth, West to East.

At 09.45 the Barham river mouth is closed and the estuary height is 1.11m. The West wind is strong and the sea is moderate. The Paradise river gauge is at 0.29m. There has been 14mm of rain in the last 48 hours but there is no sediment in the river flow. At 14.00 the estuary height is approximately 1.2m.

The following day, 24/11/2018 the river mouth is open and the estuary height is 1.1m.

The Barham river mouth is closed with minimal berm clearance. The estuary height is approximately 1.2m. Days of strong West/NthWest winds with rough seas has pushed sand into the river mouth. The Paradise river gauge is at 0.24m.

On the 08/11/2018 the river mouth is open and the flow is out.

30/04/2018 at 11.00 the estuary level is at 0.84m. The river mouth is closed with rough seas with a smooth swell entering the estuary over the berm. The river flow gauge is at 0.163; quite low.

01/05/2018 at 13.45 the estuary height is 1.02m. Seas are moderate.

04/05/2018 at 8.30 the river mouth is just closed with the berm clearance zero. The estuary height has peaked at 1.21m. Seas are smooth.

This is the last river mouth closure for the season. There was a total of 5 river mouth closures for the season.

31/03/2018 at 16.00 the Barham river mouth has closed. The sea is smooth. The estuary height is 0.9m.

02/04/2018 at 17.40 the Paradise River Gauge is at 0.168m [fairly low]. The estuary height is 1.18m and the sea is smooth. The berm clearance is 0.23m.

07/04/2018 at 09.30 the estuary height is 1.42m. An artificial opening of the river mouth has failed; closed by the following high tide. The berm clearance is below 0.3m.

12/04/2018 at 10.00 the estuary height is 1.53m, there is a moderate sea and moderate west wind. The berm has not been topped by waves since 07/04/2018.

14/04/2018 at 10.00 the estuary height is 1.58m. Seas are slight but there is a strong West wind.

15/04/2018 at 11.15 the estuary height is 1.92m. Gales and the rough seas  are crossing the berm in all areas without established vegetation.

15/04/2018 at 15.40 the estuary height is 1.98m and the berm clearance is 0.1m. Weather conditions are calmer. The Paradise river gauge after rain is at 0.37m but with little sediment in the water.

16/04/2018 at 07.30 the estuary height is 1.7m, sea conditions are moderate to rough.The river mouth looks as if it has had an early morning natural opening. From fine debris lines it seems to have reached a peak estuary water height of 2.1m before the RM opening.        The Paradise river gauge is at 0.32m.   At 12.30 the estuary height is 1.2m.

04/03/2018 at 18.00 the River mouth is closed, the sea is smooth and the estuary water height is 1.04m. The river flow is very low, below 0.15 at the Paradise river gauge. The high tide and low river flow appear to be the main contributors to the river mouth closure.

13/03/2018 at 11.30 the estuary water height has reached 1.26m.

The 19th, 20th and  21st of March seas are rough.

22/03/12018 at 08.15 the estuary height is 1.64 and the berm clearance is just under 0.2m. At 1.6m the estuary water starts to spread out into the backwater.

23/03/2018 at 09.00 the estuary height is 1.642m. The overnight high tide had covered an approved attempt at an artificial opening. The berm clearance is 0.23m.

23/03/2018 at 10.00 An approved artificial opening is being dug out again to protect a couple of camp sites which were not needed or used on the weekend.

23/03/2018 at 03.15 the river mouth is open and the estuary height is 1.32m.The artificial river mouth openings are being approved at lower and lower estuary water heights.

15/02/2018 at 11.00 the River Mouth is closed and the estuary height is 1.09m. There is and has been strong West winds, and rough seas that were the main causal factor of the river mouth closure.

By the 19th the estuary height is 1.42m.

22/02/2018 at 11.15 the estuary height is 1.535m. The river mouth has just been opened illegally by a member of the Public. I estimate that a natural opening would occur at 1.7m or below.

23/02/2018 at 09.15 the estuary height is 1.01m.

24/01/18 at 09.00 the river mouth is closed. It is calm with light winds but I am sure there was moderate seas during the night. The estuary height is only 0.88m. The Paradise river flow gauge is at 0.165.

On Friday the 26th the estuary height is 1.1m.

27/01/2018 at 09.00 the river mouth has naturally opened and the estuary height is 0.92. This is the first multiple day river mouth closure of the season.

28/05/2017 at 13.39 the predicted high tide is 1.32mAHD. At 13.40 at the harbour the tide reading is 1.49mAHD [2.43mCD]. There is fresh NWW winds and the barometer is 1006.3.  A large swell with the high tide is backing up and filling the estuary. At 13.45 the estuary height is 1.44mAHD.

On the 30/03/2017 at 11.35 the river mouth is closed and the estuary height is 1.57m. A strong West wind and rough seas. The berm clearance is 0.2m.

For the next 3 days the seas remain moderate to rough and there is a large inflow of seawater into the estuary at high tide.

 High tides contributed to the closing of the river mouth and the inflow of seawater into the estuary. My tide readings were:  31/03/2017 at 15.20 harbour reading 1.06mAHD [2.0mCD].  02/04/2017 at 15.30 the harbour tide was 0.96mAHD [1.90mCD] and at 16.00 the tide reading was 1.06mAHD [2.0mCD] and at that time some waves are just crossing the berm at the river mouth and the estuary height is 1.967mAHD.

On 03/04//2017 at 09.20 the estuary height is 1.979m and the berm clearance is approximately 0.2m. At 17.50 there has been a failed attempt at artificially opening the river mouth.The moderate seas and high tide was sufficiently strong to sand up the artificial opening. At 18.00 the estuary height is 1.98m.

On 04/04/2017 at 08.10 the estuary height is 1.982m. At 13.10 the river mouth is closed.

On 05/04/2017 the river mouth has been successfully artificially opened.

Barham River estuary was artificially opened to the sea.  Water level was 1.96m AHD.