It’s been a dark and stormy winter on our canals, and once again our charity has dealt with an aftermath of fallen trees, damaged banks, delayed winter works and hefty repair bills.
Flooding overtops the lock gates at Aynho Lock, Banbury
Storm Bert in late November 2024 was the first to wreak havoc. Our on-call team spent several hours overnight controlling water levels in Stoke Bruerne to stop the canal rising onto the towpath. At the southern end of the Grand Union, we had to rescue boats which had been set adrift by strong winds and remove fallen trees.
In Northwich, we used all our available resources to divert water away from areas at risk of flooding. Unfortunately, water did escape from the Monmouthshire & Brecon, Kennet & Avon and Leeds & Liverpool canals. While water from the Llangollen Canal flooded a nearby hotel car park.
Floodwaters overwhelm our repair works at Ratcliffe Lock on the River Soar
As we do most of our repair work to our rivers and canals in the quieter winter months, there’s always a chance that sudden storms can disrupt, delay and add costly complications to our plans. Our lock gate replacement works on the River Soar near Nottingham, and at Whetstone Lock, south of Leicester were heavily affected by early winter flooding. As our picture suggests, it put the new lock gates themselves at risk, and threatened to overwhelm the expensive heavy plant and machinery we brought in to fit them. The delays caused inconvenient canal closures for boating customers and cost our charity many lost working hours.
A fallen tree blocks the Worcester & Birmingham Canal after Storm Darragh
There was only a brief reprieve in the weather before Storm Darragh came along in early December. As with Bert, the effects were wide and far-reaching. At least 29 canals and rivers were impacted and our teams had to deal with hundreds of fallen trees which were blocking navigation. The West Midlands was the worst hit by fallen trees, with over 400 needing clearing from the region’s canal.
After a storm-free festive period, the weather ramped up again and heavy rainfall and flooding over the New Year caused serious damage to Lock 11 on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. The force of the water pouring over the banks caused a landslip on the banks near Lock 11. Fast-flowing water also quickly eroded land to the side of Locks 12 and 13, leaving huge trenches in the bank.
Landslips caused by flooding hit the Huddersfield Narrow Canal after Storm Darragh
This has left Lock 11 inoperable, and both navigation and the towpath are closed. Flooding initially made it hard to assess the full scale of the damage and repairs needed, but it was immediately clear that the areas affected are extremely hard to access. We’re going to need specialist teams and equipment to shore up the banks again, and it’s thought that the repair work will take until at least June, and cost up to £1 million.
Later in January Storm Éowyn, thought to be the worst storm to hit the UK for 20-30 years, arrived. Blasting winds of up to 100 miles an hour, the storm knocked out power to nearly a million homes and blocked roads and railways, but luckily this time, most of our canals weren’t in the path of the storm.
Dealing with storm damage and reacting quickly to prevent flooding is important work. But every time we have to spring into action like this, it diverts our teams and our resources away from the work and repairs we’d already planned for this winter.
This is why last year, we launched our Perfect Storm appeal. We’re so grateful for the support of everyone who has donated so far, but as there still may be some storms to come, we’d appreciate any gift you’d like to make now. Together, we can pick up the pieces after storms have blown through and make sure our canals stay open and working again for us all to use and enjoy.
