Welcome to the first Boaters’ Update of the year. It’s been quite a fortnight on the waterways.
The recent storms, more of which you can read below, have vividly demonstrated the scale of challenge we face in safeguarding the future of our ageing network in the face of a real term reduction in public funding.
It is a big challenge but one which we look forward to overcoming with the help of our Council whose guidance and perspective bring tangible benefits. It is with pleasure, then, that we start this edition, hot off the press, with news of who you voted to have as your elected representatives on the Council.
The damage left in the wake of Storms Gerrit and Henk is the subject of the second article. While there are still around 50 flood warnings in place, we look at some of our early damage assessments on the waterways as we journey, region-by-region, around the network.
After that you can find the, longer than usual, list of this weekend’s stoppages.
Stay safe, happy boating,
Damian
In this edition:
New members elected to Council
Sizing up the storm damage
Maintenance, repair and restoration work affecting cruising this weekend
New members elected to Council
As mentioned above, we’re pleased to welcome new members to our Council. Each elected candidate will take up their voluntary post for four years from 1 March 2024, when the term of existing elected Council members comes to an end.
The elected Council representatives are as follows:
Private boating
Penelope Barber
Fiona Burt
Rosie Strickland
Scott Martin
Business boating
Paul Donnelly
Lucy Waldron
Trust volunteers
Nigel Branston
Trevor Clark
Friends of the Trust
Brian Williams
Trust employees
Aaron Atwal
The new members include David Kent, who was elected unopposed in the Fisheries & Angling constituency.
The Council, which meets twice a year, consists of up to 50 volunteer members who reflect the wide appeal of the charity’s network – from boating and angling through to walking and wellbeing. It includes a mix of elected and independently nominated individuals. Members of the Council are responsible for the appointment of the charity’s trustees, providing guidance and perspective from different stakeholders, and acting as a sounding board for the trustees in relation to the development of proposals and strategy.
The Council is chaired by the chair of the Trust Board, David Orr CBE, who said: “I’m pleased to welcome the new Council members and look forward to working with them in the future. They bring a wealth of experience and talent to the Trust. The calibre of candidates was extremely high, and I’d like to thank all those who put themselves forward. It was also heartening to see that the voter turnout was higher than during the last elections, demonstrating the engagement of boaters, volunteers, Friends and colleagues.
“The recent storms have vividly demonstrated the scale of challenge we face in safeguarding the future of our 250-year-old network in the face of a real term reduction in public funding. Our canals offer huge benefits for the nation and I’m excited to hear the many new ideas and fresh perspectives our new Council members may have to share, so we can continue the renaissance of the past few decades.”
Full results of the election, which was led by external election company Civica, will follow on our website.
Sizing up the storm damage
It has been a devastating fortnight for boaters and canals as rain fell on saturated ground and caused damage to boats, some of which were permanent homes, and the wider canal infrastructure. Hundreds of flood warnings were issued, with around 50 still in place, by the Environment Agency (EA). If there is still flooding where you are then please only move your boat when it is safe to do so.
While storm damage, both from high winds and also flooding, has been recorded all over the country, we’ll start with the worst-hit areas which were in the East Midlands.
East Midlands
Pretty much every navigation in this region suffered some sort of damage as a result of floodwater. The River Trent recorded a 23 year high level as parts of Leicester, Cossington, Sileby, Barrow upon Soar, Quorn, Loughborough, and Zouch experienced flooding which also caused damage to boats.
As the picture shows, it wasn’t just the Trent that caused trouble. The River Soar breached again below Blue Bank lock (previously damaged during Storm Babet) and continues to erode the towpath and push the pilings over.
As happens when flooding is expected, the EA closed Trent Lock flood gates on 4 January. We still, however, had to remain on site managing the water levels on the Erewash Canal, as much as we could, by reducing the feed at Langley Mill and clearing fixed and bypass weirs of debris.
Yorkshire and North East
The Calder & Hebble and Aire & Calder navigations incorporate a number of flood gates designed to protect sections of the navigation from flooding by diverting water to the river. All of these were closed in advance of the floods but, demonstrating just how severe the storms were, the water levels still overtopped many sections, such as at Bank Dole Lock (pictured).
It was a similar story in South Yorkshire as water entered the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation from the River Don near Doncaster. An investigation is required once water levels drop to determine the route the water took as it may be related to a now abandoned draw off sluice. Further along this section, our flood gates (the Don Doors) were shut to prevent water entering the navigation, but the extremely high water levels surpassed the gates.
Thankfully, and although there was a lot of water around elsewhere and water control was needed, the Leeds & Liverpool, Huddersfield Narrow and Broad, Rochdale Canal and Chesterfield Canal would appear to have been only moderately affected. Once the flood water has receded, inspections will be needed to assess any damage and an extensive clean-up operation will be needed.
West Midlands
On the approach to the north portal of Dunhampstead Tunnel, on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, a cutting slip has caused the towpath to be totally lost with debris in the canal closing navigation. Excessive water running down the towpath and saturated heavy ground are the likely cause, which is very similar to a recent slip at Shortwood Tunnel, also on the same canal. The towpath and navigation are currently closed and the slip has had an initial assessment by engineers.
Bancroft Basin, Stratford Upon Avon, was inundated from the River Avon, and land surrounding the basin is flooded. With some boats moored there, on call teams went to the site to assist moored boaters.
On the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal the bywash, which is adjacent to a property, at Deptmore Lock suffered a structural failure caused by high flows as a result of the storms. We had to close the navigation to divert water through the lock and prevent the bywash failure causing any adverse effects. A sinkhole appeared and there was initial concern that it may impact the construction of the property. Thankfully, after being monitored, there has been no further collapse since waterflow has been diverted through the lock. A team were on site to clear debris and deposit from within the culvert, to enable inspection and repairs and there are now coffer dams in place so that the lock can be lowered and the culvert can be properly inspected.
London & South East
The Capital, not known for its floods, didn’t escape either. The Lee Navigation, at Old Ford, rose enough to enter surrounding streets. This meant we helped the emergency services manage flooded properties as well as operating the sluices at Lee Bridge.
There’s usually a delay between water falling in a reservoirs’ catchment area and it finally reaching the actual reservoir. This was definitely the case at Brent Reservoir. Water levels rose by about 1.6m/5ft overnight as inflows into the reservoir were about 2.5 times greater, at one point, than experienced when Storm Henk was actually raging. Overnight management of water levels was required with sluices being eased open to cope with the extraordinary influx of water.
As well as along the Grand Union (South) Canal there has been extensive high water along the Oxford Canal as a result of the storm. Many towpaths and locks were completely submerged. The situation, pictured, at Somerton could be found in many places as floodwaters peaked.
Wales & South West
At one point Wilton Water, a source of water for the Kennet & Avon Canal, was rising 2mm every 10 minutes. It rose so high that the Wilton village flood action team were in regular contact and concerned about damage to property. We attended the site twice in the evening and were relieved when water levels started to finally drop.
The canal itself was also straining under the volume of water. Locks at Great Bedwyn and Little Bedwyn had water running over gates and, although too early to say, probably damaged towpaths too at places such as Ham Bridge and Bulls Lock.
Newbury particularly suffered as flooding was reported at its railway station and other locations in Newbury. This meant that, late in the evening, we opened up all lock paddles on the four locks in Newbury to try to shift water as quickly, and safely as possible.
North West
Unlike other regions, the main cause for concern in the North West was the high winds. That said all bridges were closed due to flooding on the River Weaver. Town Bridge & Hayhurst Bridge pontoons were flooded and unable to swing until the water was removed and the tanks checked. Sutton Bridge collected some water in its’ main pontoon which will need removing before being able to swing Sutton.
Trees, though, were the biggest issue. Some of them have been relatively hard to access and will take time to clear. While it seems far-fetched, the widely reported tornado in Stalybridge did not, thankfully, affect the canal there (Huddersfield Narrow) but our hearts do go out to those whose homes were damaged.
As waters have continued to recede this week the damage is slowly revealing itself. In some areas though water levels remain high and our teams don’t have access to assess the damage. Once they fully recede, we’ll understand the full extent of the storm’s impact and begin clean-up operations. In these times, we greatly appreciate our volunteers help to minimise damage during the height of the storm – and restore our network once the storms recede.
Maintenance, repair and restoration work this weekend
As someone who’s out on, or by, the water more often than most, you’ll know that there are times when we need to fix things that unexpectedly break. So, below, you’ll find a list of navigations that have ongoing restrictions that may affect you if you’re planning to get out on the water this weekend:
