Coventry Basin - water point

[Bristolfashion]

Hello all, does anyone know if there is a water point actually in Coventry Basin? The CRT sign says the usual toilet/water/rubbish/Elsan, but I can't find either rubbish disposal or water point. There is a pump out unit.

 

It's no real panic as we'll be heading up past the point at Hawkesbury in due course.

 

On the upside, it's a great little spot.

 

Thanks as ever.

[Alway Swilby]

I think the water point is just outside of the basin through the first bridge.

[Bristolfashion]

Ah, I'll go and look - thanks.

[Alway Swilby]

Just now, Alway Swilby said:

I think the water point is just outside of the basin through the first bridge.

I also think the rubbish bins have gone.

[Bristolfashion]

D'oh - you're right, there's a bloomin' obvious water point just the other side of the bridge. If I look carefully, I can even see it through the bridge from the boat.

 

What was I looking at on the way in?

[Rob-M]

1 minute ago, Bristolfashion said:

D'oh - you're right, there's a bloomin' obvious water point just the other side of the bridge. If I look carefully, I can even see it through the bridge from the boat.

 

What was I looking at on the way in?

Probably too busy looking at the bridge and thinking that's going to be a tight squeeze.

[Bristolfashion]

35 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Probably too busy looking at the bridge and thinking that's going to be a tight squeeze.

You're right - we'd got relaxed on the Ashby - no locks & wide bridges. Coming into the basin with a lot of wind, not knowing the layout, the turn or if there'd be a spot ... it's a good excuse anyway!

[Laurie Booth]

The water point is on the left hand side as you enter the basin.

 

[JamesWoolcock]

There were no rubbish facilities when I bumped into Julie Sharman and Richard Parry there in the June. They were surprised too and even more so when a local CRT guy explained that  Coventry City Council had removed them, presumably without this fella or any of his colleagues reporting it!

[Slim]

21 minutes ago, JamesWoolcock said:

There were no rubbish facilities when I bumped into Julie Sharman and Richard Parry there in the June. They were surprised too and even more so when a local CRT guy explained that  Coventry City Council had removed them, presumably without this fella or any of hisum colleagues reporting it!

And presumably Richard Parry has done nothing about it in the last 8 months. 

[MtB]

19 minutes ago, Slim said:

And presumably Richard Parry has done nothing about it in the last 8 months. 

 

 

I've always been vaguely surprised that CRT feel obliged provide any services at all. Is there a legal obligation for them to provide water points, waste disposal, Elsan and pump outs? Or do they do it to be nice to boaters?

[Slim]

5 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

I've always been vaguely surprised that CRT feel obliged provide any services at all. Is there a legal obligation for them to provide water points, waste disposal, Elsan and pump outs? Or do they do it to be nice to boaters?

I thought it was something to do with the 1k a year I bung them. 

[MtB]

Just now, Slim said:

I thought it was something to do with the 1k a year I bung them. 

 

 

I pay DVLC £250 a year but they don't supply water taps, waste disposal etc....

 

Both sums are simply for permission to use the track, AIUI.

 

[Alan de Enfield]

19 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

I've always been vaguely surprised that CRT feel obliged provide any services at all. Is there a legal obligation for them to provide water points, waste disposal, Elsan and pump outs? Or do they do it to be nice to boaters?

 

No, there is no known legal requirement for them to do so, in fact, there is a Waterways Act that specifically allows them to charge seperately for any additional services above the ability to navigate.

 

They provide the additional services free of charge out of the goodness of their hearts (or have decided it would be too wieldly to operate a charging system for the use of 'taps and toilets' that would cost more to administer than it recoups).

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

No, there is no known legal requirement for them to do so, in fact, there is a Waterways Act that specifically allows them to charge seperately for any additional services above the ability to navigate.

 

They provide the additional services free of charge out of the goodness of their hearts (or have decided it would be too wieldly to operate a charging system for the use of 'taps and toilets' that would cost more to administer than it recoups).

 

 

The supposed scarcity of 'taps and toilets' in London suggests to be CRT are doing it deliberately in order to put a brake on the meteoric rise in boat density.

 

Or to put it another way, every time the boat population doubles in London, CRT don't put in any more taps and toilets. Nor do I condemn them for this.  

 

 

[David Mack]

35 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

No, there is no known legal requirement for them to do so, in fact, there is a Waterways Act that specifically allows them to charge seperately for any additional services above the ability to navigate.

 

They provide the additional services free of charge out of the goodness of their hearts (or have decided it would be too wieldly to operate a charging system for the use of 'taps and toilets' that would cost more to administer than it recoups).

So why did they start providing showers???

[MtB]

14 minutes ago, David Mack said:

So why did they start providing showers???

 

Another puzzle. 

 

[Bristolfashion]

I suppose that the danger is, if the CRT don't provide free facilities, a certain number will dispose of rubbish &: sewage in very unpleasant ways. I'm very happy to pay extra on the licence fee to stop this happening.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

So why did they start providing showers???

 

Just a by-product of reduced top-gate maintenance

[Ogwr]

Water taps were were usually found at locks for working boatmen to obtain a source of potable water for their cans as they passed through the lock. 

The growth of leisure boating meant that water points were set up away from locks to allow uninterrupted passage.  I do not know whether this provision was a legal requirement for public health laid upon the canal companies  devolving down to C&RT.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

45 minutes ago, Ogwr said:

Water taps were were usually found at locks for working boatmen to obtain a source of potable water for their cans as they passed through the lock. 

The growth of leisure boating meant that water points were set up away from locks to allow uninterrupted passage.  I do not know whether this provision was a legal requirement for public health laid upon the canal companies  devolving down to C&RT.

I too would suspect that water points were initially a statutory requirement. Possibly from around the time that potable water provision in towns and cities became a municipal responsibility in the mid 19th century after the big cholera epidemics were discovered to be caused by laissez faire water provision. It was good for the canal companies too, in that you can't have goods being moved about if the boat crews are dead from cholera. Could it have been in the laws that were introduced on minimum cabin sizes, occupancy and inspection of these? Any of the history experts on the forum care to comment?

[ditchcrawler]

On 22/02/2022 at 18:46, MtB said:

 

 

I've always been vaguely surprised that CRT feel obliged provide any services at all. Is there a legal obligation for them to provide water points, waste disposal, Elsan and pump outs? Or do they do it to be nice to boaters?

More than the Broads Authority do, they have a Nation Trust attitude to take you rubbish home. they rely on local councils to provide such facilities or boatyards