Drought forces partial closure of Leeds & Liverpool Canal

13 July 2010

With some of the worst drought conditions for 100 years British Waterways, the body which cares for the country’s 2,200 miles of historic canals and rivers, has today 13th July, announced that it is taking the highly unusual step of partially closing a canal in the North West.

The planned closure of almost half of Britain’s longest man-made waterway – the 127-mile long Leeds & Liverpool Canal – will take effect from Monday 2 August, and will close for boating for 60 miles from Wigan in Lancashire to Gargrave in North Yorkshire. The remainder of the canal will stay open for navigation, however there will be a restricted lock schedule to minimise impact on neighbouring waterways. The towpaths are unaffected by the closures, although British Waterways is asking all visitors to take extra care to stay away from the towpath edge as water levels fall.

Vince Moran, operations director for British Waterways, explains: “Canals depend upon a complex system of reservoirs and rivers to remain topped up with water however, the lowest rainfall in almost a century combined with high temperatures has left the regions’ water supplies at record low levels. We have been doing all we can over the last three months to conserve water levels within what is a popular and 200-year old working canal, and we would only close it as a last resort. However, our reservoirs are expected to have fallen to 10 per cent of their capacity by the start of August, at which point we must close off the water supply so as to be better able to manage the impact on navigation and wildlife.

“Unless we have significant rainfall within the next fortnight therefore we will be forced to put in stop planks along the canal, and shut off the water supply to the canal from all seven reservoirs from 2 August. We anticipate the restrictions continuing through the current drought but will reopen the canal as soon as sufficient water supplies become available. In the meantime we are contacting all affected customers, including boaters, hireboat companies and angling clubs and will do all we can to minimise the impact on them during this difficult period.”

For up-to-date information on the restrictions visit www.waterscape.com or telephone 0113 281 6850.

Reference

British Waterways (2010) 'Drought forces partial closure of Leeds & Liverpool Canal', British Waterways.