{"id":3748,"date":"2019-07-17T16:47:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T16:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/?p=3748"},"modified":"2020-05-19T16:46:55","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T16:46:55","slug":"tube-to-work-day-2019-is-tardy-but-still-totally-tubular","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/2019\/07\/17\/tube-to-work-day-2019-is-tardy-but-still-totally-tubular\/","title":{"rendered":"Tube to Work Day 2019 is Tardy, but Still Totally Tubular"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

by Alison Gilchrist, CSTPR Science Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, hundreds of people participate in Boulder\u2019s Tube to Work Day<\/a>, an event for which Boulder Creek is flooded with people ostensibly commuting to work by inflatable device. It\u2019s a yearly extravaganza only made possible by enthusiastic volunteers, a sense of adventure on the part of everyone participating, and an accurate knowledge of streamflow.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steamflow is the amount of water flowing in any river or\ncreek\u2014in this case, Boulder Creek\u2014at a given time. It varies enormously based\non the amount of rainfall and snowmelt that are adding to the water supply, and\nsometimes this variation can be unpredictable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a prime example of how unpredictable streamflow can mess with even the best-laid plans, this year\u2019s Tube to Work Day (the twelfth annual event) was delayed by a week due to high flows. According to Jeff Kagan, one of the founders and organizers of Tube to Work Day, the ideal streamflow for Tube to Work Day is between 150-200 cubic feet per second. This speed ensures that the water isn\u2019t dangerously high and fast, while still providing a good time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jeff Kagan, co-founder of Tube to Work Day’s founders and organizers in 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kagan has said in the past that if the streamflow is ever over 300 cubic feet per second on Tube to Work Day, the event will be postponed. The U.S. Geological Survey<\/a> site reported that Boulder Creek was about 660 cubic feet per second on July 2nd<\/sup>, about a week before the event was originally scheduled to take place. As a result, the event was postponed to make sure the creek wasn\u2019t dangerously high. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were looking on track through early May, and then we\njust had a very strange spring and early summer… Right around July 5th<\/sup>\nI saw the streamflow climb to a record high for that date,\u201d said Kagan.\n\u201cKnowing that our event was scheduled one week later, it was a pretty easy call\nto just say \u2018we\u2019re going to postpone.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kagan then had to choose a date to postpone until, knowing that it would be hard to exactly predict what Boulder Creek was up to so far in advance (This year’s TTWD is Friday, July 19<\/em>). Luckily, the research he did with the help of other Boulderites panned out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe consulted with the city events manager, the Boulder water resource department<\/a>, and a water hydrologist up at Betasso,\u201d said Kagan. \u201cI think we chose a good date. The water is still a little higher than anticipated, but it has come down to a much more manageable level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figuring out if and when it\u2019s safe to go tubing isn\u2019t the only reason you might need to know about streamflow, however. Streamflow data allows fly fishermen to choose times and places to cast lines. The data is also used to validate flood models and improve flood forecasts. For both recreation and safety, having accurate information about how much water is flowing in Boulder Creek can be very important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CSTPR Director, Max Boykoff, participating in 2018\u2019s Tube to Work Day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One way to find this information is to use the online resource \u201cRocky Mountains-High Plains Climate Dashboard\u201d<\/a>, hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder\u2019s Western Water Assessment<\/a>. From there, you can find multiple resources that have information about streamflow, temperature, snowpack and drought in the Rocky Mountains. The streamflow information is part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Information System<\/a>, which collects data from river sites around the country every 15-60 minutes. The data is collected by automatic recorders and manual field measurements and is sent to USGS offices via satellite, telephone, and radio telemetry\u2014quite the data collection feat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for everyone coming to Tube to Work Day this Friday,\nJeff Kagan has done the work for you\u2014the water will be tube-able, even if it\u2019s\nquite fast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyone coming to float\u2014it is not a lazy river, this is not\na passive float,\u201d warned Kagan. \u201cThere are always a percentage of people who\ncome expecting a chill float, and this is more of a modified white-water\nexperience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Kagan further stressed, everyone should be prepared on Friday with a helmet, close-toed shoes, and a wetsuit. Also, a waiver is mandatory!<\/strong> So if you want to save some time, you should preregister online<\/a>. But as soon as you\u2019ve done that, the streamflow is yours to measure: if by \u201cmeasure\u201d, you mean \u201cfloat rapidly downstream on in the midst of hundreds of enthusiastic commuters.\u201d Have fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tube to Work Day Pre-Registration closes at 10pm on Thursday, July 18. Missed the “boat?” Come to Eben G. Fine<\/a> b 7:45am on July 19 to sign your day-of waiver.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alison Gilchrist, CSTPR Science Writer Every year, hundreds of people participate in Boulder\u2019s Tube to Work Day, an event for which Boulder Creek is flooded with people ostensibly commuting to work by inflatable device. It\u2019s a yearly extravaganza only … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements","category-commentaries","category-science-writer-alison-gilchrist"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 10:14:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3748"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4344,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions\/4344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}