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Rochdale Canal closed between Locks 6 and 7


David Mack

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The canal at Mytholmroyd has emptied into the culvert which passes beneath just east of bridge 11. 

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Judging by the mounds of debris I assume the culvert failed upwards due to the amount of water passing through from storm Ciara. There was a similar failure here 4 or 5 years ago. Ironic that a storm overflow for the culvert (which you can just see in the background) is currently bring built as part of the Mytholmroyd flood alleviation works (which failed spectacularly on Sunday), but is not yet in use.

The empty pound shows how much debris has been brought into the canal by streams and culverts which empty into it.

 

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There must be similar shoals awaiting unsuspecting boaters along the rest of the canal. 

Both mounds have tide marks on them suggesting that they built up while the canal was full, and so the culvert failure occurred quite late in the flood.

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CRT have just sent out a stoppage notice saying the pound is empty but they are restoring water levels. I thought this a bit odd as they don't normally issue a stoppage just for an empty pound. I suppose strictly they are restoring the water level but its going to take a while. ?

 

Looks like we are stuck in Hebden for a while as there is a winter stoppage between Hebden and Tod.

 

..............Dave

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38 minutes ago, dmr said:

CRT have just sent out a stoppage notice saying the pound is empty but they are restoring water levels.

 

Wasn't there an old TV advert that asked: "Have you ever wished you were better informed?" Perhaps they should have visited, or at least looked at the photos, before publishing that! :blush:

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2 hours ago, David Mack said:

The canal at Mytholmroyd has emptied into the culvert which passes beneath just east of bridge 11. 

 

 

Judging by the mounds of debris I assume the culvert failed upwards due to the amount of water passing through from storm Ciara. There was a similar failure here 4 or 5 years ago. Ironic that a storm overflow for the culvert (which you can just see in the background) is currently bring built as part of the Mytholmroyd flood alleviation works (which failed spectacularly on Sunday), but is not yet in use.

The empty pound shows how much debris has been brought into the canal by streams and culverts which empty into it.

 

20200211_130230.jpg.2c8a96990e9c48335edf0302849be755.jpg

 

 

There must be similar shoals awaiting unsuspecting boaters along the rest of the canal. 

Both mounds have tide marks on them suggesting that they built up while the canal was full, and so the culvert failure occurred quite late in the flood.

The water is pouring out of what was called a wrack dam on the Rochdale, designed as a stilling basin to keep the canal from siltation. They should be cleaned out regularly, though even if empty I doubt if they could have coped with the amount of material that was brought down here, though it could certainly have been reduced.

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Many of the stilling basins are never cleaned out, as far as I have seen, going up and down the Rochdale. 

I was moored between Hebden and Tod, where the Rothen boat went on a jolly. Thankfully I moved it to the top of Gauxholme last week, little chance of flooding there, just above a lock and a new flood bywash just upstream.

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2 hours ago, dmr said:

CRT have just sent out a stoppage notice saying the pound is empty but they are restoring water levels. I thought this a bit odd as they don't normally issue a stoppage just for an empty pound. I suppose strictly they are restoring the water level but its going to take a while. ?

 

Looks like we are stuck in Hebden for a while as there is a winter stoppage between Hebden and Tod.

 

..............Dave

I'm addicted to Cornish pasties from Country Store near The Fustian Knife?

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10 minutes ago, 8 Hairy Feet said:

I'm addicted to Cornish pasties from Country Store near The Fustian Knife?

I'll give it a go, but, we've just had our annual break in Cornwall so firstly I'm a bit overdosed on pasties and second, some of the pasties in Cornwall are just so good and so I would be surprised if even Yorkshire can do a pastie as good as the Cornish.

 

................Dave

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3 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

And I'm stuck in Sowerby Bridge as Belfast is too long to leave by the Calder and Hebble.

We were planning on coming down to Sowerby this weekend but I think that's not going to happen now. Is Sowerby ok or is it all in a bit of a mess?

 

..............Dave

1 hour ago, matty40s said:

It's good to see they have marked the navigable channel with cones though.

Looks like its just marking the location of that shopping trolley to me....they mark the channel with sticks on the Rochdale.

 

................Dave

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3 hours ago, matty40s said:

It's good to see they have marked the navigable channel with cones though.

That's to guide the big old historic boat they are sending up from So'r'by to cut a new channel. They are always bragging about doing that. 

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1 hour ago, Dave123 said:

Also seen a photo of drained pounds at Salterhebble three locks...? More storm damage I guess...

It looks quite bad down that way, we could well be heading for another year of very little traffic on some of the Northern canals.

 

.............Dave

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16 hours ago, dmr said:

We were planning on coming down to Sowerby this weekend but I think that's not going to happen now. Is Sowerby ok or is it all in a bit of a mess?

The basin area and the main street are fine. Don't know about the area nearer the river which certainly did flood.

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6 hours ago, Dave123 said:

Also seen a photo of drained pounds at Salterhebble three locks...? More storm damage I guess...

 

CRT were doing repairs on the top and middle lock which is why the pound was drained. That was all fixed and sorted before the storm (and the pound is back to normal). 

 

They finished it a week before the storm luckily. I've heard Elland (just down from Salterhebble) had issues with boats being lifted out the water and then the area being drained, but I've not bothered to walk down and take a look yet as our Winter Mooring isn't up yet

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21 hours ago, Unicorn Stampede said:

 

CRT were doing repairs on the top and middle lock which is why the pound was drained. That was all fixed and sorted before the storm (and the pound is back to normal). 

 

They finished it a week before the storm luckily. I've heard Elland (just down from Salterhebble) had issues with boats being lifted out the water and then the area being drained, but I've not bothered to walk down and take a look yet as our Winter Mooring isn't up yet

https://www.facebook.com/groups/canalsandrivers/permalink/2814130158671228/

 

If this video is Salterhebble then it looks a right mess?

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On 12/02/2020 at 16:25, Unicorn Stampede said:

I've heard Elland (just down from Salterhebble) had issues with boats being lifted out the water and then the area being drained, but I've not bothered to walk down and take a look yet as our Winter Mooring isn't up yet

Decided to take a wander down after we saw one of the Elland boat's up our way...

 

 

photo_2020-02-15_17-32-23.jpg

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13 hours ago, Unicorn Stampede said:

Decided to take a wander down after we saw one of the Elland boat's up our way...

 

 

photo_2020-02-15_17-32-23.jpg

Hmm, the old C&H boat Hebble moors next to that. 

I wonder why they didn't take precautions to stop it grounding. 

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  • 4 months later...

Well, after the damage caused by Storm Ciara and the coronavirus lockdown, the Rochdale Canal is now open. Earlier in the week I rang CRT to book a passage through Tuel Lane lock, and I got a call back later asking if I would mind if CRT shadowed our passage from Lock 6 to Lock 7. As a boat drawing 3 ft, they wanted to see if the recent dredging has been sufficient to allow us to get through - if we can do it, then all the shallower draft boats should be fine.

 

As well as this year's storm damag,e the Environment Agency have been building the flood relief works through Mytholmroyd in response to the Boxing Day 2015 floods. One of the measures was to provide an overflow for the White Lee Culvert, which failed again this year, to allow excess water feeding the culvert to drain into the canal, with a new spillway towards Lock 6 to take the excess water from the canal down into the river, downstream of Mytholmroyd. As part of this apparently the normal canal water level has been slightly lowered, so CRT also wanted to know if this would affect our passage.

 

And so this morning, after an exceedingly slow ascent of Tuel Lane deep lock, we pottered along to Lock 5, in light drizzle, where we were to meet 2 CRT chaps, who helped us through Locks 5 and 6.20200619_132900.jpg.00d4e4336ffc066a7a3fb8a047053183.jpg

The CRT chaps then walked along the towpath alongside us to see where we might touch the bottom.  

This is the new outfall, just beyond Brearley Bridge no. 8.

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And the culvert overflow outfall to the canal between Bridges 10 and 11.

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The White Lee Culvert on 2 February:

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And passing over it today:

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The shoal in the canal west of Bridge 12 on 2 February.20200211_130230.jpg

And now dregded out, although they haven't touched the catch basin, which is supposed to trap debris before it enters the canal.

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And waiting as Lock 7 empties, after a trouble free passage along the pound. Lets hope the rest of the Rochdale has been as well dredged!

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Edited by David Mack
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Thats an ugly outfall but where Calder Valley flood water is concerned a bit of concrete and steel is probably better than heritage. CRT do appear to be quite good at looking after and fixing the Rochdale. We did Hebden Bridge to Todmorden a couple of days ago and except for a stuck paddle and shallow water at a couple of lock landings it all went very well, though some washwall repairs as part of the "towpath upgrade" are seriously visually unpleasant.

 

Will have a shot at Todmorden to Summit tomorrow, I reckon the Rochdale is pretty much open again.

 

...................Dave

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