Boaters race against clock as drained canals close

[robtheplod]

We need a minster for drought.... that worked in the 70's!!  he was the most effective politician of all time!

[LadyG]

6 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

We need a minster for drought.... that worked in the 70's!!  he was the most effective politician of all time!

I think we need a Minister to oversee water resources. Drought is caused by mismanagement of the water that falls from the sky and seeks to return to the sea 

[robtheplod]

50 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I think we need a Minister to oversee water resources. Drought is caused by mismanagement of the water that falls from the sky and seeks to return to the sea 

thinking about it, you cant these days can you with the water companies being private companies!

[Arthur Marshall]

2 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

thinking about it, you cant these days can you with the water companies being private companies!

They may not be for long...

[cuthound]

5 hours ago, Mike Tee said:

I'd also imagine back in the early days when the canals were busy with carriers the system was a lot more efficient with far less loss due to the various leaks we have today. (Also probably better looked after by resident lock keepers and lengthsmen who knew what they were doing.)

 

I re-watched the film The Bargee last night. It was made in 1964 towards the end of the carrying days and the dawn of the leisure age.

 

What was noticable was the low leakage through lock gates compared to today, even though the normal practice then was to leave lock gates open when leaving a lock.

Edited August 3 by cuthound
the not that

[NB Thistle]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

I think we need a Minister to oversee water resources. Drought is caused by mismanagement of the water that falls from the sky and seeks to return to the sea 

Drought is caused by prolonged periods of low rainfall. Water shortages might be caused by mismanagement. Most of our water infrastructure was built when rain fell throughout the year, the last few years weather patterns have changed so similar annual rainfall now mostly falls in a concentrated period during the winter, meaning a load that would have ended up in reservoirs and available to use now goes to run off, and hotter drier summers mean evaporation is also higher than it used to be.

[LadyG]

2 hours ago, robtheplod said:

thinking about it, you cant these days can you with the water companies being private companies!

That was always a catastrophe in the making, pure greed.

However the CRT own some reservoirs,  (lets hope they dont sell any more off), and of course they are a charitable organisation so should not be paying their executives ridiculous sums, running the business to maximise profits. 

The concreting over of increasing areas of the UK also means further loss of rainwater which  is taken straight to a culvert, and probably too contaminated to be recycled in water treatment plants, but it would be OK in canals.

Drinking water distribution of course is subject to leakage.

Edited August 3 by LadyG

[system 4-50]

How much would it cost to cover all the canals with plastic balls to reduce evaporation?  Would HDPE(?) be better?  They could be green to make them eco friendly?  If the size was right, would it be possible to walk over canals with ski shoes?  

[Jen-in-Wellies]

3 hours ago, robtheplod said:

We need a minster for drought.... that worked in the 70's!!  he was the most effective politician of all time!

No need for politicians. The solution is in our own hands and feet. A coordinated canal users rain dance. 💃☔

[LadyG]

15 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

How much would it cost to cover all the canals with plastic balls to reduce evaporation?  Would HDPE(?) be better?  They could be green to make them eco friendly?  If the size was right, would it be possible to walk over canals with ski shoes?  

Plant more small trees, not conifers, these provide shade for boats, nesting sites for birds and flowers for moths and other insects.  Buddlea are non native but they survive most areas, and help butterflies and bees. I think more vegetation would reduce evaporation and cool the water. 

Unfortunately that pennywort  may cool the water but clog up the prop.

2 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

They may not be for long...

It will cost too much to buy back what the Govt once gave away. 

Edited August 3 by LadyG

[Tony Brooks]

30 minutes ago, LadyG said:

The concreting over of increasing areas of the UK also means further loss of rainwater which  is taken straight to a culvert, and probably too contaminated to be recycled in water treatment plants, but it would be OK in canals.

 

One of our members who seemed to be well versed in highway planning once posted something to the effect of god bless BW, they will take anything we can throw at them, so it seems that if a canal is nearby at least some concrete run-off ends up in CaRT's hands, but how much goes into their reservoirs and how much over weirs is open to question.

[LadyG]

1 minute ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

One of our members who seemed to be well versed in highway planning once posted something to the effect of god bless BW, they will take anything we can throw at them, so it seems that if a canal is nearby at least some concrete run-off ends up in CaRT's hands, but how much goes into their reservoirs and how much over weirs is open to question.

It wont go in to reservoirs, most of them are up in the hills, but they don't want to have any industrial runoff under any circumstances.

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, LadyG said:

It wont go in to reservoirs, most of them are up in the hills, but they don't want to have any industrial runoff under any circumstances.

 

I don't think that is true for a number of canal reservoirs, Wilton Water (K&A) one on the South Oxford that the road runs down to. In fact the more I think about it, the more seem to be in a bit of a valley, but just above summit level.

[ditchcrawler]

8 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

As the water companies seem incapable, I don't see why anyone would consider that CaRT can. It is not only the cost, but given a site, which is more vital, water for domestic and commercial consumption or to fill canals.

Its not just them, farmers are in the same boat, stuck in the mud Suffolk's Elveden Estate sees new £3m reservoir run dry | Thetford & Brandon Times You have to accept cookies to read without paying. but it tells of how even large new reservoirs have run dry

[Rob-M]

47 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

A coordinated canal users rain dance.

That was quick, just started raining in Penkridge.

[Alan de Enfield]

10 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

It seems that most reservoirs are, since Todbrook, now being filled to less than capacity due to safety reasons.

 

It is not just the "canal" reservoirs/

 

About 5 years ago (maybe 8 years ago) ALL reservoirs were inspected and the vast majority of them were forced to reduce their capacity and cut 'overflows' into local dykes / streams.

 

Our local Estate had 4 large agricultural irrigation reservoirs along side some of our land and they 'lost' almost the equivalent of one reservoir under the new legislation.

 

we sold them some 50 acreson which they planned to buils two Reservoirs, in two stages. They have now built the 1st one at a cost of £5 million and have plans to start the second in the next year or two.

 

The new reservoir contains 230,000,000 litres

 

 

Edited August 3 by Alan de Enfield

[ditchcrawler]

6 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

How much would it cost to cover all the canals with plastic balls to reduce evaporation?  Would HDPE(?) be better?  They could be green to make them eco friendly?  If the size was right, would it be possible to walk over canals with ski shoes?  

Like Walsall basin

[IanM]

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Like Walsall basin

I think it may need more than just one 

[David Mack]

4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

About 5 years ago (maybe 8 years ago) ALL reservoirs were inspected and the vast majority of them were forced to reduce their capacity and cut 'overflows' into local dykes / streams.

This may have followed on from the failure of the spillway at Ulley Reservoir near Rotherham in 2007, during a period of very heavy rainfall, which in turn threatened the stability of the dam.

Not unlike Todbrook really, although the detail of the failure was different.

[IanM]

Was looking back through my photos from this time last year and the Napton flight had already been closed.  

[Ronaldo47]

Perhaps they could partially cover a new reservoir with solar panels rather than putting them on good agricultural land. They could help reduce evaporation.

Edited Tuesday at 10:49 by Ronaldo47

[Stroudwater1]

Headline item on the 18.30 ITV news tonight, just after the break. 

 

 

[Phil E.]

Headline item about the canal levels? 

[Stroudwater1]

2 hours ago, Phil E. said:

Headline item about the canal levels? 

Yes, it featured the last boat through Atherstone top lock (nice boat making a pleasant sound) , vlockies putting the locks closed sign across, someone on another boat from Fund Britains waterways too. It was a good piece I thought. Catchup till 18.00 tomorrow, unless someone clever can post it here. 

[David Mack]