BajaNomad - Mulege Rio Rumor Mill

Mulege Rio Rumor Mill

willyAirstream - 8-25-2012 at 11:25 AM

MRRM

As the patrons of the jungle keep track of how many dump trucks are going by, speculation ranges from - dredging has actually started!, a new marina is coming!, condos on the island, a bridge across the river and as the drinks add up we hear that the river is being filled in and other assorted ideas. These pics were taken Friday and today, Saturday. Although many have questioned the workers, no one has been given a direct answer as to what is going on. Carlos race bar is seeing better biz as the crowd ( crowd of 6, that would be most of us gringos here) moves to that bar for burgers and fries to get an up close and personal view of the activity.

Other rumors - slot machines are being added to a new AIR Conditioned room in Carlo's bar/cafe.
A new bar is opening in the town square, not a rumor, it is the former Mesquite Bar.

willardguy - 8-25-2012 at 11:31 AM

I heard they're dredging the river to accommodate submarine traffic!

Cypress - 8-25-2012 at 11:45 AM

Open up the channel! 4 to 6 feet! Maybe Mulege will be the port of destination for a bunch of tourist ships? Maybe? :lol:

Howard - 8-25-2012 at 11:52 AM

Has anyone thought to ask one of the drivers?

DavidE - 8-25-2012 at 12:09 PM

It looks suspiciously like they are building access to support a dredging operation.

I wasn't there during the floods. But if there was a tremendous amount of water flowing (a great, meaning fast, current) then cutting a forty foot wide channel deep enough to meet sea level would carry a lot of water -- if "sea level" is sufficiently lower than what the bottom of the channel is now. Is the bottom of the rio at Mulege twelve feet above sea level? More? Less?

A marina would be a side benefit not the main objective IMHO.

The above is a series of questions punctuated by a bunch of "If's"

Mula - 8-25-2012 at 12:50 PM

Wow, progress . . . to what? Great tho', isn't it?

Russ - 8-25-2012 at 01:22 PM

Lousy time of year to get into a project (what ever it is) in the river. Maybe they'll pour concrete between the two jetties and have shops that get swept away each season. Great place for a malican (sp) with lots of food and trinket stands. just don't visit if it's raining.

capt. mike - 8-26-2012 at 08:16 AM

did Alex quit the Mesquite??

watizname - 8-26-2012 at 08:34 AM

Seeing the debris in the trees along the river from the last storms shows the depth of the river during those storms. I don't think making the river channel deeper is going to solve the flooding problems below the bridge. That water was 15 ft or deeper when it went by the bridge. Be interested to know what they are thinking. :rolleyes:

Bob and Susan - 8-26-2012 at 11:30 AM

15 feet or deeper....hahha it was to the bottom of the bridge...
nothing would help with water power like that

we had a storm a week ago in the mountains (not in the town) that washed out the little road under the bridge

all fixed now though

for months now workers have been hauling out fallen trees and taking them into the river valley for disposal

bigmike58 - 8-26-2012 at 12:03 PM

Quote:

Where on earth do you get your info? The water never even came over the lower road, let alone "wash it out" as you say. Please get your facts straight before posting crappola. I was there and drove that road at least 3 times everyday. Here is a pic of the river at it's highest during/after the storms least week, same with the so called "washed out road". :lol:

scouter - 8-26-2012 at 12:13 PM

http://www.gravi.com.mx/en/whoweare.html

Bob and Susan - 8-26-2012 at 12:15 PM

i guess you were not here this last week...
the dirt under the bridge was replaced
its drivable now

it was gone
no cars could drive thru

there was no rain in town just in the valley ...way back

i go to town just about everyday...water trips

your pics are from a couple of weeks ago

Cypress - 8-26-2012 at 12:53 PM

:biggrin:

willyAirstream - 8-26-2012 at 01:08 PM

Quote:

we had a storm a week ago in the mountains (not in the town) that washed out the little road under the bridge

yep, wiped it out. The estuary looked the the muddy Missisippi.

[Edited on 8-26-2012 by willyAirstream]

LancairDriver - 8-26-2012 at 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bigmike58

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
15 feet or deeper....hahha it was to the bottom of the bridge...
nothing would help with water power like that

we had a storm a week ago in the mountains (not in the town) that washed out the little road under the bridge

all fixed now though

for months now workers have been hauling out fallen trees and taking them into the river valley for disposal [/
Where on earth do you get your info? The water never even came over the lower road, let alone "wash it out" as you say. Please get your facts straight before posting crappola. I was there and drove that road at least 3 times everyday. Here is a pic of the river at it's highest during/after the storms least week, same with the so called "washed out road".

Whoops! Conflicting eyewitness reports. Willy seems to have tipped it 2-1 in favor of Bob and Susan's report. Is that a final?

[Edited on 8-27-2012 by LancairDriver]

Bob and Susan - 8-26-2012 at 05:44 PM

it was ONLY to the top of the bridge during the hurricane...

this week it flooded out the little road with the pipe
so the water breached that road

the trucks came and filled it in AGAIN

all is fine now

i walked across it on friday

acadist - 8-26-2012 at 07:09 PM

In the picture was that guy texting? :spingrin:

Maybe it's a 'secret project' to bring the town to the 'Malecon to nowhere' :light:

I love Mulege!!!

willyAirstream - 8-26-2012 at 07:43 PM

As stated above ^ no direct answers have been given. The site engineer, drivers and surveyors have been asked by local Mexicans. Their ( the locals) guess is it's a marina.

It wouldn't be a rumor, if we had facts. Nor any fun. look it even brings out the trolls, err goats.

Bob H - 8-26-2012 at 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by willyAirstream
The site engineer, drivers and surveyors have been asked by local Mexicans. Their ( the locals) guess is it's a marina.

Esculara Nautica back into action !!

Pescador - 8-27-2012 at 07:35 AM

You can bet that the Delegado knows what is going on but would need to be asked to get an answer.

BajaDove - 8-27-2012 at 09:19 AM

If there is a road to an Island is it still an Island?

mulegemichael - 8-27-2012 at 09:28 AM

please let's just keep it simple and make it a "river cleanup"....we'd all benefit from that.

David K - 8-27-2012 at 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaDove
If there is a road to an Island is it still an Island?

Yes!

In San Diego we have Shelter Island, Harbor Island and Coronado Island (oh, and North Island)... all are connected. In Texas there is South Padre Island... the list is endless.

willyAirstream - 8-27-2012 at 10:41 AM

From the Delegado, via 3 people,
The dirt between the roads will be dug down 5-6m and placed on the north river road making it higher. Then another finger road will be built and that area will be excavated, etc. End result being a 5-6m channel and a marina along the malecon. It appears that the existing malecon will be much lower than the new portion. The channel will be built to the town and the area under the bridge will be upgraded. A 2-3-4 ?? Year project.
Again, this is third hand information.

David K - 8-27-2012 at 10:44 AM

Best info. yet! Thanks Willy!

willardguy - 8-27-2012 at 10:48 AM

hopefully your malecon will hold up better than san felipe's or gonzaga's,both breached. :light:

LancairDriver - 8-27-2012 at 12:49 PM

Reliable sources (the construction foreman) says they are dredging the river all the way back to the bridge to be deep enough to run boats back that far. What size boat remains to be seen. Also how long will the deeper channel will be able to be maintained before silting in again.

Alm - 8-27-2012 at 01:56 PM

New malecon lower than the old one that was successfully flooded in 2008 and 2009? What a fresh thinking....

Marina close to the river mouth would make some sense, though I wouldn't trust any permanent structures in this river, given its record.

They really should be limiting their efforts to just dredging - this is a lot of work already, and it IS needed.

EngineerMike - 8-30-2012 at 12:09 PM

Flood hydraulics of Mulege proper & the Mulege estuary (I call it an estuary because it is tidal from Cortez all the way to and slightly above the bridge) are easily discerned from a quick look at Google Earth. Check out the massive drainage area westerly of the narrow gorge where the bridge crosses. It fans out wide in the north-south direction, and runs half way to the Pacific. All that drainage has to pass under the big bridge and thru that narrow gap. Hurricane Jimena flood water by my inspection of debris lines at & near the bridge indicated high water came about to the bottom of the big bridge, maybe 25' depth (varies depending on where you measure). I looked specifically at early claims it over topped the bridge and did not find evidence consistent with that. Regardless, area of drainage vs narrow gap = way high flood level at the gap/bridge.

Dredging in the river won't solve anything in town. Flood water will always back up and flow thru town unless and until it is relieved by some realllllllllllly massive earthwork project to push water to the north or south around town. We're talking mini Panama Canal type stuff here, probably not in the cards.

Dredging in the river will, however, improve hydraulics for areas below the bridge. The estuary fans out to fairly wide near the mouth, and flood level always decreases as water flows east from town. The Orchard is directly in the path of fast moving, still too high water, so flooding there is inevitable, as well as high scour velocity. East past the Orchard, we can expect still high flood levels decreasing as it goes, but this is where dredging will start to have an effect. Removing sand bars & islands and reestablishing a deeper channel will allow flood water to flow faster and therefore shallower. That said, there will always be 2 miles of channel water that has to get going before flood water can clear, it will take time to get that moving, and that means water stacking up to create the pressure to start flow. If all this channel improvement was on dry land, it would translate cubic foot for cubic foot to faster & more complete flood relief, but since it is under tide level- the relief will be incremental and not transformational.

All the above assumes you don't put new flood impediments in the way of moving water. Berms for a marina would be such an impediment. I hope that's not the plan.

Cypress - 8-30-2012 at 12:33 PM

To put things in perspective! Think of digging a ditch from the bridge to the mouth of the Rio. The deeper the better! The spoils? Use 'em to build the road higher. When a hurricane hits? Ride it out, pull the boats out or head for open water.

mtgoat666 - 8-30-2012 at 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
To put things in perspective! Think of digging a ditch from the bridge to the mouth of the Rio. The deeper the better! The spoils? Use 'em to build the road higher. When a hurricane hits? Ride it out, pull the boats out or head for open water.

after you dredge the river, next hurricane will fill it in with new sediment load. you'll need to dredge it agin.

on the bright side, river will be navigable for a while....

Alm - 8-30-2012 at 12:47 PM

Boy, I'm glad to see that not all the nomad talk is a "happy hour" kind of talk

...

Incidentally, I had the same in mind when said that dredging is one thing that you can't go wrong with, i.e. it will help people from Orchard and below. At least, they would be able to land their boats at any time. But the South shore from Orchard down East is definitely not suitable for permanent development, nothing more serious than palapas with patios on piles like those that I saw in Gonzaga bay.

vgabndo - 8-30-2012 at 02:22 PM

Thanks Engineermike for that insight. I opened Google Earth and is IS so clear what a dirty trick nature played on humans there. Water and shade to attract us, and the geography conspires to drown them all!

When I read your use of the term *scour* I was reminded that I helped Sharks Baja assess his damages with my photography, and then the SECOND time around he became the poster boy for the scour zone.

Thanks to GE time lapse here's their place (with the bright patio) before:

Corky reached me privately and asked that I remove these pictures because they are too painful for him. When we lost our 16 year investment to the same storm, my wife has STILL not been able to return because of the pain. I can't protect you from your wounds Cork, but I respect your wishes.

[Edited on 8-31-2012 by vgabndo]