You don’t need me to tell you just how little rain we’ve had. Apart from the odd shower or two, which is all sucked up by plants, we’re still waiting on a consistent, and prolonged, period of rain since before the beginning of spring.
As you can imagine, the addition of three heatwaves and steadily above-average temperatures this summer mean that maintaining water resources for boating is becoming more challenging by the day.
Head of boating at the Trust, Matthew Symonds gives an update:
After hearing Matthew’s update you may be wondering how our 250-year-old canal network gets its water. Dr Adam Comerford, our national hydrology manager, explains:
Boating in a drought – how we’re eking out supplies
The canal network needs in-season rain to supplement the water that its reservoirs and feeders capture during the winter. Without that, and with your help, we have to eke out the water that’s available, carrying out maintenance and repairs and adapting the operation of locks to save water.
In most locations the latter equates to reduced opening hours/days for certain locks and/or assisted passage. Of course, it’s been so parched in some parts of the country that this is no longer sufficient, leaving our charity with some tough choices to make.
Take the Wolverhampton Lock Flight for example. Despite all our operational efforts, levels in our feeder reservoirs are continuing to fall due to canal water demands. Yesterday (30 July) we had to close it to navigation to help protect vital water resources on the Wolverhampton Level, which supports several other parts of the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
Closing one section for the greater good has happened elsewhere too. The Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal is closed which has helped preserve more water resources for the mainline of the GU.
We’ve made the best of this dry weather induced closure by bringing forward essential works at locks 3, 4, 6, 9, and 14, as well as replacing the gate at lock 12, which we had planned to do in the winter stoppage period. We’ve taken a similar approach on other parts of the network but, as you’d expect, we’re mindful that, although not forecast, a three-week deluge could start at any point and we are committed to lifting restrictions as soon as water levels have replenished.
Meteorologically speaking, we still have another month of summer and little rain is forecast. This may mean more restrictions or, alternately, the forecast is wrong (it happens!) and sustained rainfall will mean we can lift some restrictions. Whichever pans out, a map of the affected areas can be found on the Notices section of our website: filter by reason: ‘Low Water Levels’ and select ‘Map View’. If you think you’ll be regularly checking the map then bookmark this link and it’ll take you straight to the low water stoppage map.
Check out the video below for more guidance:
If you’re a regular visitor to one of the many online boating forums then you may have come across one or two statements about how we manage water that aren’t quite right. Dr Adam Comerford, our national hydrology manager, busts some myths:
Boating in a drought – what can boaters do?
Boaters play a vital role in preserving water resources. There’s something you can do on every single cruise to save precious litres. From sharing locks through to reporting leaks and double checking that that all gates and paddles are shut after use.
If you’re new to boating, or can’t remember the THRIFT mnemonic, it’s a set of principles that can be followed to save water:
Two in a lock? Share locks
Help keep it in. Make sure gates and paddles are shut
Report any leaks to us
Invite others to join you and don’t empty or fill locks if someone else can make use of the water
Find another favourite. Explore less busy or unrestricted parts of our network
Think ahead. Plan cruises to minimise use of locks
Do I need to request an extended stay if I’m within a low-water stoppage area?
No, we automatically exclude any boats sighted within a low-water stoppage area from overstay monitoring. You will not receive overstay reminders or be charged. If you believe you’ve received an overstay reminder in error, please email [email protected] and we’ll look into it.
Another extremely helpful feather in the captain’s hat is being our eyes and ears. You may remember that earlier in the year we were alerted to dead fish in the Kennet & Avon Canal on the Bath Flight, which was the unfortunate result of a natural algal bloom and required the deployment of our specialist fishery contractors.
Algae are microscopic plants and at normal levels they form an important part of the aquatic habitat, which give canals and rivers a diffuse greenish colour. However, under certain conditions algae can bloom (i.e. their population rapidly increases to unsustainable levels) that can lead to health risks for fish, humans and pets. Blooms usually occur in prolonged periods of settled sunny and warm weather, like we are experiencing, in nutrient-rich water.
An algal bloom can cause dissolved oxygen concentrations in the water to rapidly decrease risking suffocation, smothering of other organisms, and irritation of fish gills. Some species of Blue-Green Algae are toxic and can cause illness and rashes in humans, and are potentially fatal to fish, wildlife, and pets.
Algal Blooms often have a vivid/vibrant green colour that can occur in clumps, streaks, or mats. Some examples are shown below.
While our colleagues remain vigilant across a lot of our network, we can’t be everywhere all at once. So please help us by reporting any observations of potential algal blooms to us on 0303 040 4040, and/or the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60. Please provide a description of the bloom, a location, and if possible, a photograph.
Maintenance, repair and restoration work this weekend
As the above update demonstrates, the network wasn’t built for extreme weather and it does impact its ability to operate which sometimes mean we have to reluctantly restrict, or stop, navigation. When this does happen, we get notices up onto our website as soon as we can – it’s always best to have a scan while you’re planning your cruise and also just before you set off. You can find out how to get stoppage notification alerts on your smartphone in this article.
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:
