Rochdale water levels

[LadyG]

On 25/09/2022 at 14:28, gatekrash said:

The Rochdale must be open again without anyone being told. It's listed as one of the 6 'Best places to boat this autumn' on the CaRT homepage...

 

From Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, canal boat holiday-makers can travel along the Rochdale Canal through the Calder Valley to the old mill town of Hebden Bridge, nestled in a fork in the hills. Climbing through woods, fields and small stone towns, the journey there and back covers 14 miles, 20 locks and takes around 11 hours.  

 

[Ian Mac]

On 24/09/2022 at 13:34, Midnight said:

Please tell me it's a wind up but someone just forwarded a video showing a CRT boat with musicians in fancy dress  playing music, going up and down the locks in Littleborough while there's 10 boats waiting after been told not to move to save water 😕

 

I suspect the waiting boats do not wish to go up to inspect the bottom gates of lock 45 and come back,  as that is where it is locked off. This may be possible if you ask, as this is where the last winding place is.
There is a small stream feeder which comes into the canals below lock 44, however there is nowhere to wind on that pound, thus the locks on 45. This small feeder is what is currently keeping the pounds below 44 full, with limited movements up to 45 to allow boats to access the facilities block below 46.
The Manchester side has been open for a while as this is feed off Hollingworth lake  which enters on the long Littleborough pound some way  below 48, and this feed has not been compromised as badly as the summit feed from Chelburn which has very tight limits on the supply it can provide.
The only long term solution will be back pumping of the summit flight, this has been looked at and would be very expensive to install/reinstate, I guess over £1M so we will need either a very philanthropic person or a far better settlement from DEFRA to be able to even think about doing this. My guess is the Defra are going to attempt to pull the grant which they currently pay C&RT so that the Tory rich can have their bonuses,  so maybe we will get a donor,  a rich Tory - Trickle down economy.

[dmr]

I suspect that there is enough water about now to allow limited boating, which is pretty much what the Rochdale is in October. However lock 35 is still closed so no water coming down from a full summit pound. I suppose they can't really re-open the canal yet as if boat movements drop the levels at Walsden there is no way to bring water down from the summit. 

Maybe they are lazy anf just extend the current stoppage due to low water rather than saying that lock 35 is the cuurent issue (for which they have still not issued a stoppage).

They are putting in a new clay lining right now. I had hoped to see a bunch of navvies or even some livestock puddling the clay, but its all done rather skillfully with a big digger.

[Jim Riley]

Walked by the western  locks this morning, water cascading down, everything brimming. However I called CRT last week to see what the craic was. Confirmed we are OK with the boat being moored between Lock 1 and the Junction, "no movement on the Rochdale". I did tell them I had cycled all the way down from Summit to Sowerby on the 22nd, everywhere full apart from the bit above Tuel. I was told their engineers were waiting for the reservoirs to fill too. 

 

[dmr]

Ian, Jim

 

Backpumping up from Littleborough might help, but it will reduce the amount of water going down to Manchester, and that could make the trip from Manchester to Littleborough even more difficult than it is now and put even more boaters making the trip?

 

I suspect that more sympathetic boating could make quite a big difference to the Rochdale water situation, its mostly short pounds so just "taking the water with you" could really help.

Even at times when water is not abundant a couple of boats moving will result in water cascading over many gates.

 

The level of water in the resevoir does appear to be a big issue for CRT, but most Rochdale boating is on the Eastern end and very often this does not require any water from the summit, I suspect there are just about enough little feeds to keep the canal in water as long as its used sensibly.

 

I do share the funding concern, "Thick Lizzie" is all about tax cuts and reduced public spending so things don't look good for CRT (and us). All the money spent on marketing and blue signs was likely spent in vain.

 

If the grant does fail then can we have the black signs back please 😀

[Midnight]

Looks like boaters trapped on the Rochdale can escape to Sowerby Bridge this week Monday & Friday. Yesterday a colleague left Hebden Bridge only to find Mytholmroyd lock still chained up. It was the same in July when we came that way but the leak in the top gate fills the lock anyway and only the paddles were chained up then.

[Jim Riley]

I once the cked up at the lich by the pub in Newton Heath, padlocked. Phoned a couple if times, time was getting on, needed to get out of there, so cut the last link on the chain, dropped it off behind the bar and phoned CRT to tell them. 

[LadyG]

7 hours ago, Midnight said:

Looks like boaters trapped on the Rochdale can escape to Sowerby Bridge this week Monday & Friday. Yesterday a colleague left Hebden Bridge only to find Mytholmroyd lock still chained up. It was the same in July when we came that way but the leak in the top gate fills the lock anyway and only the paddles were chained up then.

The stoppages update tells a different story :  the suspense is building, will there be any water, will there be any chains, will my junior hacksaw be up to the job?

Don't miss tomorrow's episode 

Edited October 25, 2022 by LadyG

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

The stoppages update tells a different story :  the suspense is building, will there be any water, will there be any chains, will my junior hacksaw be up to the job?

Don't miss tomorrow's episode 

How far you got?

Have got up Tuel Lock?

Have you found The Keeper of the summit?

 

 

[Jim Riley]

Came up with @LadyG, we left her in the bowels of Mytholmroyd. Can a Rescue party be arranged ? 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Oh no!

Not ....Mytholmroyd!!

😂😂

 

 

[dmr]

She could stay there for a week and get some serious shopping donem, CALVAG and RDG are both just a short walk from the canal.😀

[Jim Riley]

13 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Oh no!

Not ....Mytholmroyd!!

😂😂

 

 

Could always get a job selling ice cream!

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

She could stay there for a week and get some serious shopping donem, CALVAG and RDG are both just a short walk from the canal.😀

And there’s the Ice Cream Factory up road if LadyG wants a job. 
 

 

ha ha crossed post 

same thought

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

I bagged 10K doing that over the summer. 
When I say bagged, I mean saved after tax, bills, bar tabs and fancy new cloths. 

If there’s a boater out there that needs to earn a lump of money I recommend it.