As you may have seen, on 12 August, there was a toxic chemical spillage in Pleck, Walsall. The spillage went into the canal in Walsall, and initially, a 12-mile stretch of canal was closed as a precaution. Sodium cyanide was discovered in the water, and it was treated as a major incident, with a multi-agency response including the Trust, Environment Agency, Walsall and Sandwell Councils, the UKHSA, the emergency services and Severn Trent. We have been a part of the swift emergency response and worked around the clock with the lead agencies to secure the canal and contain the contamination to avoid it spreading further along the canal.
Following thorough testing by the Environment Agency, the restricted zone has now been reduced to just over half a mile. A section of the Walsall Canal from James Bridge on Bentley Mill Way in Darlaston to Rollingmill Street in Walsall remains closed until further notice. In this area, chemicals, including sodium cyanide and zinc cyanide, have been found at elevated levels.
Henriette Breukelaar, our regional director for the West Midlands, said: "The chemical spill on the Walsall Canal has been extremely distressing and has caused great harm to local wildlife. We know that so many people share our outrage at what happened last week and will want to help the response. Of course, the company responsible should pay, but the timing and outcome of the investigation by the Environment Agency are uncertain, and we must act now to protect the canal as best we can and that’s why we've launched a fundraiser to help the devastated wildlife.
"Our canals matter, not only to boaters and local communities but to everyone else as well – because canals enhance the natural environment, they help to mitigate climate change, and they are integral to our future water security and supply. Events like this highlight how vulnerable they can be and how important it is that they are properly protected."
A close up of cloudy polluted water in the canal with dead plant matter and the bodies of fish floating on the surface.
Working for boaters this winter
As this edition is published on 23 August, there are less than ten weeks until we start our intensive maintenance period over the winter months. If you’re planning some cold weather cruising or are interested in what we’ll be working on, then you’ll be pleased to know that, after a couple of rounds of consultation with boaters, we’ve now finalised the full programme of winter repairs and conservation work to protect the nation’s historic canals and help to keep this important national infrastructure available for boaters, local communities and visitors.
As a boater, you’ll know that the programme takes place between November and March when the canals are quieter to minimise the impact on navigation. You’ll also know that these projects, sometimes significant engineering projects, are the core of our charity’s year-round maintenance work. A host of important repair, heritage and conservation tasks will be carried out at 159 sites across England and Wales.
The Trust will be installing 129 new oak lock gates, handcrafted in our specialist workshops, at Caen Hill Flight on the Kennet & Avon Canal, Hatton Flight and Braunston on the Grand Union Canal, Acton’s Lock on the Regent’s Canal in central London, and on the Rochdale Canal and Birmingham Canal Navigations amongst others.
Other work includes masonry repairs to bridges, tunnels and wash walls, work to fix leaks and preserve water for navigation, and inspections of important infrastructure, including Islington Tunnel, York Street Aqueduct in Burnley, and Gloucester Lock.
Malcolm Horne, chief infrastructure & programmes officer, said: “Our canals are as important now as they were at the height of the Industrial Revolution – but age and increasingly frequent and extreme weather events are taking their toll, meaning our work to repair and maintain the canals is needed now more than ever. The work we are carrying out this winter is part of our ongoing investment programme to keep canals alive and accessible for navigation for boaters, as well as acting as linear parks benefiting local people and wildlife.”
In addition to the winter works, we are midway through a multi-million programme of reservoir repairs to help ensure the resilience of the water needed to keep canals topped up (did you know 50% of the water in our canals comes from our reservoirs). The Trust’s reservoirs are the oldest in the country and need continued investment to safeguard the water supply. Work has taken place, or is planned, at over two-thirds of our 71 large-raised reservoirs. In addition, repairs to canal beds, canal walls and locks will help to ensure that millions of litres of water aren’t lost from the network’s ageing structures. We are also, as you’ll have read in the last edition, continuing to invest in our dredging programme throughout the year to improve navigation.
All of our planned works have now been incorporated into the main search function so you can easily filter down, by date, waterway and type, to find the stoppage notices you’re interested in.
Last winter’s programme was heavily impacted by a seemingly endless stream of storms, but we will do our best to deliver this winter programme as published. However, changes are occasionally required, often as a result of outside influences, last year’s extreme weather being the perfect example. Please note that change will only be made where absolutely necessary and our website will be updated accordingly. If you sign up for our email alerts, then you’ll be among the first to know!
Nether Lock stoppage
Working for boaters – in numbers
While the article above demonstrates that we have a huge tranche of projects on the horizon, lots of our routine work around the network that keeps navigations open for boaters continues.
That said, as you’ll expect, many hours and resources were spent dealing with the major incident on the Walsall Canal. Even though the exclusion zone has been reduced, there’s still much to be done, and it’ll continue to draw on our resources for the foreseeable future.
However, with over 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, it’s nigh on impossible to list all the things we’ve been doing over the last fortnight (I’m sure you haven’t got a spare day to read the entire list!), but a scan of our stoppage notifications shows that we’ve…
Removed nine wind-blown trees that were impeding navigation
Fixed seven sets of lock paddles
Carried out six general lock repairs, such as repairing quoins, brickwork and beams
Repaired three sluices
Repaired two bridges
Carried working on two piling projects
Carried out/facilitated two bathymetric surveys (a water-based survey that maps the depths and shapes of underwater terrain)
Repaired one Elsan
Repaired one pump outstation
Carried out one dive survey
Conducted/facilitated 17 bridge inspections
Since we started sharing these statistics (12 July 2024), the totals are:
Removed 56 wind-blown trees that were impeding navigation
Carried out 38 general lock repairs, such as repairing quoins and brickwork
Repaired 19 bridges
Fixed 19 lock paddles
Repaired 15 pump out stations
Fixed (or in the process of fixing) 11 embankments
Fixed 11 customer service facilities (such as toilets)
Repaired ten Elsans
Repaired eight sluices
Removed four sunken boats
Carried out three boater safety activities (such as placing buoys around hazards, etc.)
Worked on three dredging projects
Repaired three culverts
Worked to control three invasive species (Pennywort, duckweed etc.)
Removed two sunken cars
Carried out/working on three piling projects
Carried out/facilitated two bathymetric surveys (a water-based survey that maps the depths and shapes of underwater terrain)
Two stoppages due to nesting birds
Carried out two dive surveys/repairs
Annoyingly had to clear one lot of illegal fly tipping (well, one that required a stoppage. There were plenty more!)
Conducted/facilitated 49 bridge inspections
The above list doesn’t include any work conducted purely on towpaths, water management, major reservoir projects and so on – it’s just a flavour of what we’ve been doing to help boaters keep moving on the cut!
A work boat removing floating pennywort.
Happy to help
One of your representatives on our Council, Fiona Burt, shares her first experiences as a Council Member and explains how she is ‘doing her bit’:
“I was humbled to be elected to serve the Private Boaters on the Canal & River Trust’s Council of Members in January. Since then, I’ve been on a steep learning curve.
“With such a vast network to care for, the Trust does attract criticism from boaters. Some of this is justified, but, as I have been discovering, much of it is not.
“There’s a staggering amount of mandatory maintenance of structures that are mostly unseen or unappreciated by the boating community. The Trust is also shackled with a maze of laws and bylaws, many of which date back 200 years to the creation of the canal network. These can make it difficult to implement many seemingly ‘good ideas’.
“This does not mean that we should accept the status quo, however. Improvements to the system and the service offered to boaters can and will be made. Your Private Boater Reps are working hard to ensure that you get good value for money from your licence and mooring fees, which make up about a fifth of income raised each year by the charity.
“However, as materials and labour costs rise and the DEFRA grant shrinks in real terms, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Trust to maintain the current standards, let alone make those improvements. As a continuous cruiser, I travel extensively, and I’ve come to the conclusion that many of the jobs that I would like to see done could be done… by me!
“I’ve always picked up litter when I’ve been near a bin, but now, I lock-wheel with a carrier bag in one hand and a windlass in the other. Where safe, we’ve dragged branches (and shopping trolleys) out of the cut and trimmed overhanging trees to save the deployment of a work team and boat. I know other boaters who carry shears to neatly trim the grass around their mooring spot each night. It’s really satisfying to look at our ‘home improvements’ and to know that I’m helping to #KeepCanalsAlive.
“Could you play your part too?”
Fiona Burt
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:
When restrictions to navigation happen, we get them up on to our website as soon as we can – always best to have a scan before you set off. Have a read of the article below to find out how to get stoppage notification alerts on your smartphone.
If you have any questions about a specific closure, or spot an error in our system, please get in touch.
Improvements to stoppage notices for boaters
There's been a lot of talk in this edition about stoppage notices. They're written by regional teams as soon as they become aware of an issue that might affect the navigation or towpath. As many readers know, you can be notified by email as soon as it is added to the system.
A vital tool for any boater looking to get out on the cut, we're making a few changes to make it easier and quicker for when you want to find out what, if anything, is happening on the route of your cruise. From next week, 28 August to be precise, the following features will be added to, or upgraded, the stoppage notification system:
You'll be able to filter search results additionally by notice reasons.
There'll be an improvement to the handling of poor internet signals by being able to browse through up to a year's worth of search results at once.
You'll be able to browse through up to a year’s worth of search results offline.
You'll be able to see the search results on the Trust's new mapping system.
You'll be able to bookmark your search filters for ease of sharing and when returning to the site.
Wigan lock flight stoppage
The future of Anderton Boat Lift needs boaters' views
As you may know, Anderton Boat Lift, Cheshire's historic 'Cathedral of the Canals', needs urgent work to prevent it from falling into disrepair and facing possible closure.
The unique 150-year-old structure was the world's first major commercial boat lift. It now requires an upgrade to enable the ageing machinery to continue transporting around 3,000 boats a year between the Trent & Mersey Canal and the River Weaver Navigation, around 50 feet below. Without the lift, boaters would be forced to make long detours.
The lift is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is a priceless piece of our living heritage. It was brought back to life through a complete restoration at the turn of the millennium, and we constantly invest in the upkeep and maintenance of the structure, but now major refurbishment work is required.
The whole structure requires blast cleaning, repairing and repainting. The timber control cabin needs replacing and IT operating system updating.
Also included in the project are plans to upgrade the visitor centre to include a new flexible event space, which will replace the large marquee, plus the development of a new learning, skills and outreach programme. This will enable more boaters and visitors to enjoy the unique attraction and delve deeper into the site's fascinating history.
With this in mind, we've developed an ambitious, externally funded programme – the 'Engineering the Future' project – to revitalise the lift and visitor centre, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). In December 2022, we were awarded a £574,000 grant from the NLHF to support the development phase of this major project. An application for Stage 2 funding will be submitted next spring.
As part of our exciting project, we're keen to understand more about boaters and other visitors who use the lift to capture the views of both to inform our planning. We'd be grateful if you would complete our survey, which will only take 5 – 10 minutes, and at the end, you will have the option to enter a prize draw to win a £100 Love2Shop Voucher Booklet.
