The Canal & River Trust has drained a section of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal in the centre of Birmingham after water was discovered escaping from the bottom of an historic aqueduct into a disused railway tunnel below the canal.
Now that the canal has been emptied and the fish moved to safety, engineers from the Trust have discovered a large hole in the bed of the canal. Investigations into what caused the hole and if this is the only source of the leak will continue on into next week.
Lawrence Tall, from the Canal & River Trust, said: “We’ve drained the canal and stopped the leak and are now investigating how best to repair the leak. It’s still early days but it is likely we will have to repair part of the canal bed. This will be a big job and will involve using specialist machinery to remove the old canal bed, lay down a new clay lining which, once in place, will reinstate a watertight seal along the aqueduct.”
The works will start in the next few weeks and the canal between Gas Street Basin and the Mailbox will be back open to boaters by Easter.
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