Rochdale - Mayroyd Lock 8

[Unicorn Stampede]

Lock 8 at Hebden Bridge has continually been a problem, with a leakage issue meaning the pound above it always being low, but CRT have apparently been fixing it.

 

Except we just had horrendous rain, with Eastwood (up from Hebden Bridge) flooding the canal and Hebden Bridge flood alarms going off...

 

So if ever there was a time for water levels to be fine, it would be now. Heck, the pounds down to lock 5 which were low have refilled.

 

Except, you guessed it, the pound between lock 8 and 9.

 

I'm sure they'll actually fix whatever the issue is at Lock 8 at some point. Its only been 3 years now of continual problems

[LadyG]

I'm aground again, where has all the water gone? At least stop the pound above Lock 8 draining.

[LadyG]

On 28/11/2024 at 14:09, LadyG said:

I'm aground again, where has all the water gone? At least stop the pound above Lock 8 draining.

Update:  walking past the upstream lock today I noted some paddles half up, and, unbelievably, half an hour later I'm well afloat!

[dmr]

We've been associated with the wonderful Rochdale since 2018, and lock 8 and the Hebden pound have always given trouble. Its possible that CRT have not handled this too well, but the odds are stacked against them.

Flooding and Covid lockdown have resulted in us spending a lot of time there so we know it well.

There is certainly leakage at lock 8 bottom offside gate, right in the corner, which I hope CRT are fixing.

When Bronte had two day boats there they would potentially take 4 lockfulls out each day.

Quite a few hire boats turn there so take two lockfulls out and put none in, though I suspect less Shire Cruisers boats this year?

Lock 9 is a "leave empty" lock so a bottom paddle should be up, but rarely are.

I have seen the top plank removed from the weir above lock 9 so all the excess water goes into the Calder rather than through the bywash to the Hebden pound.

There are rumours that the residents in the low lowing mill at lock 8 sometimes lower the pound to reduce a damp problem but I have never seen any evidence of this.

There are many moored boats above lock 9 and below lock 8, and realistically some of them really are not boaters so maybe some uninformed letting down of water??

The drydock is sadly out of use so thats one less source of water loss.

 

The Hebden pound is possibly one of the most photographed pounds in the country so it does need sorting out.

[MtB]

45 minutes ago, dmr said:

The Hebden pound is possibly one of the most photographed pounds in the country so it does need sorting out.

 

Surely all these problems are CRT testing out how effective it is for getting rid of boaters, if they stop maintaining a canal. See the bigger picture! 

 

Will any of this matter when there are no boats? 

 

 

[dmr]

I would think CRT have done lots of "what if" studies about canals without boats, any organisation would do this stuff, but the CRT people I have dealt with appear to be very pro boating, even though a significant number of boaters really are a pain in the a*** and make CRTs job a lot more difficult.

 

Type "Hebden Bridge" in to Google and select images, this gives a nice idea of how canals and boats figure on the grand scheme of things, and Hebden is a spectacular place even without its canal.

[MtB]

6 minutes ago, dmr said:

but the CRT people I have dealt with appear to be very pro boating,

 

Same here, but they would say that wouldn't they, when dealing with a boater. 

 

Secondly and more importantly, conclusions reached in private in the boardroom about long term strategies are routinely not spread about amongst the worker bees, for fear of spooking them.

[dmr]

11 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Same here, but they would say that wouldn't they, when dealing with a boater. 

 

Secondly and more importantly, conclusions reached in private in the boardroom about long term strategies are routinely not spread about amongst the worker bees, for fear of spooking them.

My current view, (based on a bit of optimism, and I do hope I am correct) is that after several years of messing about with cycling and "engagement officers etc" is that CRT have now realised that boating is actually a rather important aspect of the canal system. There are many threats, global warming and too many unplanned stoppages in the summer, and struggling hire fleets, but there is still a bit of hope. It shoukd be ok for 20 years so that will "see me and you out" but not sure about how it will be in 50 years time.

[IanD]

12 hours ago, MtB said:

 

Same here, but they would say that wouldn't they, when dealing with a boater. 

 

Secondly and more importantly, conclusions reached in private in the boardroom about long term strategies are routinely not spread about amongst the worker bees, for fear of spooking them.

You do realise you're starting to sound like a paranoid (CART *are* out to get me!) conspiracy theorist, don't you? 😉 

 

Nowadays what is said in the boardroom (thankfully) rarely stays in the boardroom, it's often leaked by concerned people... 🙂 

 

12 hours ago, dmr said:

I would think CRT have done lots of "what if" studies about canals without boats, any organisation would do this stuff, but the CRT people I have dealt with appear to be very pro boating, even though a significant number of boaters really are a pain in the a*** and make CRTs job a lot more difficult.

 

Certainly seems to apply to some organisations (NBTA, anyone?) and posters both on CWDF and Facebook... 😉 

[Jim Riley]

All will be well, once we have an app. 

[IanD]

4 minutes ago, Jim Riley said:

All will be well, once we have an app. 

Only it could miraculously fix the massive (£50M p.a.? £100M including maintenance backlog?) hole in CART finances... 😞