Breach - Pollington Lock to Rawcliffe Bridge/water levels/towpaths

We are pleased to report that the Aire & Calder Navigation is open and operational with effect from 09:30hrs on Friday 20th August.

Please see separate notice for ongoing restrictions.

Please note there is no navigation through the breach site at Newbridge.

From 25th July The Trust will be raising the water levels in the navigation in order to temporarily re-water the breach site to allow engineers to check banks. Following this test, the levels in the navigation will be lowered. Please note this will see the water level reduced back to the current lower level, in order to allow the removal of the cofferdam.

Water levels will be affected from Ferrybridge to Goole on the Aire & Calder navigation and on the New Junction canal to Sykehouse Lock.

Can skippers of all craft please adjust their mooring lines accordingly. 

Once the cofferdam has been removed, the navigation will be re-watered, ahead of the planned opening in mid-August.

We will update this notice when we have further information.

The following sections of towpath remain closed following the breach which resulted in some bank settlement with unevenness underfoot.

Crowcroft Bridget (south side of navigation) to Went Aqueduct (west side)

Beaver Bridge to Newbridge (breach site), both sides of navigation.

Whilst the settlement does not pose a risk to the navigation it does make the towpath unsafe to walk on at this time, and will therefore remain closed until further notice.

We will update this notice when we have further information.

Goole Caisson stop planks have been removed and the Caisson is now open.

Navigation is now possible from Rawcliffe to Goole Caisson and onto Goole Docks.

Navigation remains closed between Rawcliffe Bridge to Pollington.

Please see separate notices regarding arrangements to book passage through Pollington Lock and Sykehouse Lock.

The navigation is now open between Ferrybridge and Whitley.

It remains closed between Whitley and Goole.

Please see separate notices regarding arrangements to book passage through Whitley Lock and Pollington Lock (and Sykehouse) with effect from 12 April. 

We will issue further updates when they become available. 

We have experienced a few challenges with the coffer dams at the breach site during the weekend. 

To help manage this we have had to drop levels between Ferrybridge and Pollington, therefore fluctuations in water levels may be experienced over the next few days as work continues at the breach site on the long term repair. 

Skippers of all craft are advised to check their mooring lines to ensure their vessel is securely moored allowing for water fluctuation.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.  

The Trust and its contractors are in the final stages of making the cofferdam watertight, to enable the cofferdam to be dewatered. We anticipate that our engineers will be able to carry out the first detailed inspection at the breach site shortly after Easter. Water levels continue to be carefully monitored. While passage through Goole Caission is not possible at present, the Trust is working hard to ensure boaters can once again pass between Pollington and Sykehouse Lock. We intend to operate this on a booking only basis from 12 April (in line with the Government road map). 

The downstream seal of the cofferdam has been fixed temporarily with downstream water levels stabilising. A robust fix is currently being implemented to secure the seal.

Dewatering of the cofferdam is now programmed for week commencing 22nd March with breach investigations to follow.

A problem with the seal at the breach site has resulted in an inflow of water from the downstream end that our contractors are currently attending to.

Downstream water level fluctuations are expected to continue whilst this is addressed, and further dewatering of the breach site is planned for w/c 8th March 2021.

The cofferdam has now been installed. Next week we expect to be able to dewater the site and carry out a fish rescue (while pumping water out, any fish trapped between the walls will be rescued and relocated back into the canal).  Shortly after this, we will conduct our first detailed site investigation with our principal engineer, to assess the damage and decide on the repair programme to be undertaken.  

It will take several months for the repair programme to complete and will can share more details on timescales after the site inspection.  

The breach site has now been dewatered to provide access for inspection and investigation works to be carried out and to allow repairs to commence. 

Until then we will continue to manage water levels.

Further updates will be provided when we have further informaiton.

Works at the breach continue this will create fluctuations in water levels between Pollington, Sykehouse and Goole.

Skippers of all craft are advised to check their mooring lines to ensure their vessel is securely moored allowing for water fluctuation. 

We are continuing to carry out inspections of the breach site twice per day to ensure safety of the area. These inspections have confirmed that the repair is structurally sound and there is no further flood risk.  We have lowered water levels in the canal to reduce the rate of water loss from the breach and the escaped water is being pumped away into the River Don. The water levels in the canal are being managed through the pumps near Goole dock.   

Our project team met on Monday 4 January to begin work to repair the breach. The repair work will first require the removal of the water from a section of the canal around the breach point. This will involve the construction of a temporary dam at two locations by piling across the navigation to create a ‘cofferdam’. The design of these temporary works has commenced.

Once the cofferdam is in place, which we expect to be in the next few weeks, the water in the canal can be pumped around it in order to ensure a constant water supply to feed Goole docks. Until the cofferdam is in place it is difficult to be precise how long a permanent repair will take as this very much depends on what damage we find once the water is removed.

The twice daily inspection of the damaged area of canal bank will continue until this cofferdam is in place to ensure public safety.

To reduce water levels at breach site below Pollington Lock water levels from Ferrybridge Lock to Pollington Lock have been slightly reduced and the locks closed for public use.

This is a short term measure being reviewed on a daily basis.  The locks and sections above Pollington Lock will be reopened as soon as this is possible. 

The section from Pollington Lock to Goole Caisson and Sykehouse Lock will remain closed.

Towpath closed from Pollington Lock to Went End Aqueduct due to bank slippage.

On the 22nd December the team on site placed around 150 tonne bags of stone on either side of the breach hole and this slowed the flow of water leaving the canal. The plan for the 23rd December is to continue with this work, with the helicopter placing probably around another 100 bags of stone, to shore up the hole. Once enough have been placed we will start to place clay around the bags to create a water tight seal and depending on how works proceed today, this could be later today or tomorrow. We have taken the decision to keep the navigation closed until January 4th as a precaution.

Navigation remains closed between Pollington Lock and Goole, with no access too or from Goole Caisson.

We are continuing to work with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Humberside Police, Humberside Fire & Rescue, the Environment Agency, Snaith & Cowick Town Council and the Internal Drainage Board in addressing the structure failure that occurred on Sunday 20th December 2020.

We will provide further updates on the status of navigation over the coming days as the incident response develops.

Navigation closed between Pollington Lock and Goole. 

Closed with no passage through Goole Caisson Lock.

Update to follow in due course.