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EA River Levels web site

Chris Jones said:
The message I just got was a quite different "The system is currently unavailable while maintenance takes place"
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You need to dig down a little deeper to get the message I posted. Typical public sector web site.....
I have also contacted the EA asking about this. After years of trying to get this information made publicly assessable and usable they finally do it for a few days and then its gone. No doubt some IT technician charged them thousands for a site that a ten year old could have built and actually get to work!
If they cared to pass the equipment over to voluntary sector bodies I am sure it would be on line immediately.
The Welsh site is still working and it uses the same information.
http://www.fishing.visitwales.com/fisheries/riverlevels/default.aspx?id=57&RL=1
What gets me is that I received several press releases in my real life job, from the EA announcing that this information would now be on line, but absolutely nothing telling me it wasn't. The maintenance notice adds insult to injury in that it gives the impression that some body is actually doing something behind the scenes. But go here
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/default.aspx
and you get another message. They are working to fix it, but can't give a date when it will be done! I wish I could tell clients I am doing work for them but don't know when it will be finished! Only public sector bodies that have lost their way completely can behave like this.
 
This is the EA's stabdard response to my complaints
Dear Pete

Thank you for your email regarding the new river and sea levels information on our website.

Our river and sea level information is currently unavailable due to a technical issue. We have identified the problem and are currently working to resolve the issue. I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused and hope to make the site available again soon.

We will keep your details and will tell you when our river level site is up and running again.

I trust that this information is helpful.

Kind Regards


Richard Melbourne
Customer Service Advisor
National Customer Contact Centre - Sheffield
08708 506 506
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Not good, in fact absolutely ****. Make a few more complainants everybody, it mat make them see that this information, which has been available on their internal system for years, should be on the public system. In fact it is a legal responsibility of them to provide this stuff.
 
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Pete Marshall said:
This is the EA's stabdard response to my complaints
Not good, in fact absolutely ****. Make a few more complainants everybody, it mat make them see that this information, which has been available on their internal system for years, should be on the public system. In fact it is a legal responsibility of them to provide this stuff.
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That is very similar to the reply I received, except they told me that the technical issue had already been resolved, but would take up to two weeks to put into operation :eek:

Cheers, Dave.
 
Jusr got this reply lads from the EA;

Dear Tim

Thank you for your email regarding the new river and sea levels information on our website.

Our river and sea level information is currently unavailable due to a technical issue. We have identified the problem and are currently working to resolve the issue. I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused and hope to make the site available again soon.

We will keep your details and will tell you when our river level site is up and running again.

I trust this information is useful to you, should you have any other queries please contact us.

Kind Regards

Rebecca
 
Call me cynical but i wonder if someone has pointed out that calls to the premium rate phone line have all but stopped and that revenue stream has dried up.

regards
Richard
 
Latest reply
[FONT="]Dear Pete[/FONT]

[FONT="]Thank you for your email about the river levels information currently unavailable on our website. Please accept my sincere apologies that our service has disappointed you.[/FONT]

[FONT="]We have had to temporarily remove this information because of a database problem which led to massive memory loss from our internet servers. The latest update I have available is that a fix for the problem has been developed, but due to the rigorous testing requirements it may take up to a further week for the service to be restored. This information has not been included on the web page, as it could be subject to change so we are unable to give an accurate time frame.[/FONT]

[FONT="]We understand that this is far from ideal, and are truly sorry for any inconvenience that it is causing you. In the meantime information on some main rivers can be obtained from Rivercall. You can find out which rivers and how to access this information from this page on our website:[/FONT]

[FONT="]http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/31443.aspx[/FONT]

[FONT="]Rest assured that we are working hard to fix this problem as soon as possible. [/FONT]

[FONT="]Kind regards[/FONT]

[FONT="]Kath Tart[/FONT]
[FONT="]Team Leader [/FONT]
[FONT="]National Customer Contact Centre[/FONT]
[FONT="]Environment Agency[/FONT]
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Anybody got a different response?
The memory loss they are talking about is something that they should have checked for. I think more people used the service than they thought. So the EA do something popular with anglers and it fails because its too popular!!!
If you are on the Teme, the Severn or Welsh rivers, no need to pay for expensive phone calls as the Welsh site here
http://www.fishing.visitwales.com/fisheries/riverlevels/default.aspx?id=57&RL=1
still works.
 
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Barring a few details, that is pretty much the same as the reply I had Pete. I guess IF they are true to their word, and it is back on line in a week or two, it won't be too bad :rolleyes:

Takes a big leap of faith to believe it though, don't it :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Just checked the site, only to see "This service is being temporarily interrupted due to technical difficulties, we are working hard to address."

I guess it was the wrong sort of rain.....:rolleyes:

Edit: my apologies for not reading the entire thread. My observations seem less that unique :)
 
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Maybe it simply costs too much and it's going to be part of the cut backs??
 
Latest message from the EA
Dear Pete,

You recently contacted us about our new river and sea levels service.

I am happy to tell you that the technical problems have now been resolved and the service is operational again. Please visit our website to check out the river and sea levels in your area.

I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

Kind regards,

Phil Armstrong

Phil Armstrong
Senior Project Manager
Flood & Coastal Risk Management Directorate
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and indeed it is working and hopefully will remain so. They may have got a little concerned at my offer to host the site on the SRT website for all rivers in the Severn Catchment! Particularity as I am pretty sure we could do it at a considerable cost saving[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT] !
 
The website currently shows the following for all locations;

"The system is currently unavailable while maintenance takes place"
 
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