canals and flooding

[souladventurer]

Hi Everyone

 

I would like to gain some insight into the perils of canal boating in this difficult period of weather we have all suffered with over the last few months.

 

Has the extreme rainfall prevented cruising due to exceptional high water?? locks closed , local flooding etc.

 

Do the C& R T put closures on

 

Has this had major impacts on your plans or have you just had to moor somewhere longer until the situation improves??

 

Has this prevented you from continuous cruising ??.

 

if a canal was shut due to circumstances of nature ( Floods further up canal, ice snow etc or C & RT stoppages) under the " continuous cruising "" rules if I were stuck would I be able to stay put until the situation improves or turn back finding alternative route???

 

I see this is a great site for sources of information and I am finding lots out so any further thought's are most welcomed.

 

I thank you in advance

 

 

 

 

[Keeping Up]

Where the navigation enters a river, closure due to flooding is quite common. Generally speaking though, it is incredibly rare for canals themselves to be affected by flooding - it is more likely that they will be affected by drought in very dry summers

[deckhand]

Living on water, canal, river or ocean is all about planning. There are notifications that boating people watch and take note of, to plan their life aboard. Stoppages happen primarily through the winter, when it is less "amicable" to cruise or get around the network, although there are people who do still want to do this and they have to plan accordingly. A lot of boaters "hole" up in a marina through winter months by way of protection from bad weather, stoppages etc and then come the spring, they then get out there on the canal etc.

Some boaters who reside on rivers have to also take other precautions and make extra plans as rivers, as has been shown over the past couple of months, can easily flood.

[Guest]

Hi Everyone

 

I would like to gain some insight into the perils of canal boating in this difficult period of weather we have all suffered with over the last few months.

 

Has the extreme rainfall prevented cruising due to exceptional high water?? locks closed , local flooding etc.

 

Do the C& R T put closures on

 

Has this had major impacts on your plans or have you just had to moor somewhere longer until the situation improves??

 

Has this prevented you from continuous cruising ??.

 

if a canal was shut due to circumstances of nature ( Floods further up canal, ice snow etc or C & RT stoppages) under the " continuous cruising "" rules if I were stuck would I be able to stay put until the situation improves or turn back finding alternative route???

 

I see this is a great site for sources of information and I am finding lots out so any further thought's are most welcomed.

 

I thank you in advance

 

 

 

 

 

Over the last couple of months the flood gates on the Aire and Calder and the Calder and Hebble have been shut frequently yes.

 

They also closed the flood gates on the Don aqueduct last week to prevent the River Don overflowing into the New Junction canal as it was in flood which is an uncommon occurrence. I have found CRT do not not get concerned about non movement off visitor moorings when you can't move, it would be nonsense to me if they did.

 

We don't CC so I can't comment from that perspective.

[BEngo]

The Severn has been closed since before Christmas, The Trent and the Soar are up and down like the proverbial. The River Cherwell sections of the Oxford canal and the Trent section of the Trent ad Mersey at Alrewas have been shut for periods too. I guess the Churnet section of the Caldon might have also been affected.

 

Otherwise the canal system is not much affected by rain. Wind can be a different story, especially on exposed high banks.

 

No reason why a CCer should be affected much, but CRT are reasonable if a river is closed.

 

 

N

[bottle]

Hi Everyone

 

I would like to gain some insight into the perils of canal boating in this difficult period of weather we have all suffered with over the last few months.

 

Has the extreme rainfall prevented cruising due to exceptional high water?? locks closed , local flooding etc. Yes in some places but not others.

 

Do the C& R T put closures on Yes, go to the C&RT we site and look for 'Stoppages'

 

Has this had major impacts on your plans or have you just had to moor somewhere longer until the situation improves??No effect whatsoever but I watch the weather forecast

 

Has this prevented you from continuous cruising ??. No

 

if a canal was shut due to circumstances of nature ( Floods further up canal, ice snow etc or C & RT stoppages) under the " continuous cruising "" rules if I were stuck would I be able to stay put until the situation improves Usually yes or turn back finding alternative route???f you can turn round, then why not.

 

I see this is a great site for sources of information and I am finding lots out so any further thought's are most welcomed.

 

I thank you in advance Your welcome

 

 

 

 

 

Four posts whilst I was typing, have not read them yet.

[Machpoint005]

A canal, as opposed to a river or navigation through which a river flows, find its own level by design. This is especially so if you are at summit level, or at least, not too near the lowest pelevation on a given canal. The canal cannot get too full, although I must admit it's nice to have the bottom futher away from the top for a change.

 

The weirs on the upper Peak Forest will be sloshing water away nicely at present!

[BlueBelle1]

Great post and some excellent advice, I'm scared of weirs for some reason I used to have nightmares about them

[dmr]

The Eastern K&A is or was officially closed due to too much water, It was pouring over the top gates faster than it could get out the bottom paddles so the bottom gates won't open. There is also various damage due to all this water. I believe CaRT are happy for continuous cruisers to stay put for now.

A few of us wanted to move and CaRT helped us through a damaged lock. I reckon the canal is open again now and CaRT have just not bothered to send out the eMail. The biggest problem for CCers is that the towpath is very muddy!

 

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

[Alan de Enfield]

Weirs demand the utmost respect - especially when the River is in flood and you may have little 'power / speed' in hand against the flow.

 

Even the fittest can be killed :

 

Cromwell Weir by the side of the lock is one of the largest weirs on the Trent and marks the tidal limit of the river. On 28 September 1975, during an eighty mile, night navigation exercise in extreme weather conditions, ten members of the 131 Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers were killed after a power failure caused the navigation lights on the weir to go out and their boat went over the crest. A memorial garden with a block of Scottish granite bearing the names of the men who died, lies next to the lock

[Springer]

That should put your mind at rest then!......

 

No more nightmares ... Eh! bB1

[blackrose]

I'm scared of weirs for some reason I used to have nightmares about them

 

I can't comment about the dreams, but you've good reason to be scared of weirs - not good places for canal boats!

 

There are quite a few weirs on the Avon near me that are completely unprotected, so you really don't want to miss the lock cutting coming downstream!

Edited January 31, 2014 by blackrose

[Lockie Junior]

Indeed, weirs and the rivers they control deserve healthy respect, but I wouldn't say you should be afraid of them (a bit of extra power to pull clear is no bad thing mind).

 

Regards,

Lockie.

[BruceinSanity]

CRT calls them notices rather than stoppages these days and the relevant web page is here.

[jelunga]

Weirs demand the utmost respect - especially when the River is in flood and you may have little 'power / speed' in hand against the flow.

 

Even the fittest can be killed :

 

Cromwell Weir by the side of the lock is one of the largest weirs on the Trent and marks the tidal limit of the river. On 28 September 1975, during an eighty mile, night navigation exercise in extreme weather conditions, ten members of the 131 Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers were killed after a power failure caused the navigation lights on the weir to go out and their boat went over the crest. A memorial garden with a block of Scottish granite bearing the names of the men who died, lies next to the lock

Cromwell Weir is currently flat. At least it was Wednesday and we have had lots of rain since

[Alan de Enfield]

Cromwell Weir is currently flat. At least it was Wednesday and we have had lots of rain since

 

'Your' weir wasnt far off flat at the beginning of last week

[jelunga]

 

'Your' weir wasnt far off flat at the beginning of last week

True but mine is only a tiddler compared to Cromwell and Gunthorpe! About 2 inches height on Wednesday.

[steelaway]

Great post and some excellent advice, I'm scared of weirs for some reason I used to have nightmares about them

Hi

If you can see the top of the weir even with water flowing over it, there is going to be a 3 or 4 ft wall below it to crash into before there is any likely hood of going over it.

 

Alex

[NigelMoore]

The Grand Union has had its share of flooding from time to time -

 

[Keeping Up]

The Grand Union below Stoke Bruerne can have problems if the Tove floods. Just once I have known the Foxton to Watford summit be flooded, it rose by a foot overnight and covered the towpath. And once there was freak weather when we were in the middle of Birmingham and the entire area around there was flooded as the canal overtopped the towpath for a couple of hours. But these are rare occurrences, like on our maiden voyage when the Trent came over half a mile of fields and flooded into the T&M from Bar last on to Stone.

 

http://keeping-up.co.uk/Canals/1991Maiden/maid01r.jpg

[Tuscan]

The Grand Union below Stoke Bruerne can have problems if the Tove floods. Just once I have known the Foxton to Watford summit be flooded, it rose by a foot overnight and covered the towpath. And once there was freak weather when we were in the middle of Birmingham and the entire area around there was flooded as the canal overtopped the towpath for a couple of hours. But these are rare occurrences, like on our maiden voyage when the Trent came over half a mile of fields and flooded into the T&M from Bar last on to Stone.

http://keeping-up.co.uk/Canals/1991Maiden/maid01r.jpg

Came across Leicester line summit between Watford and Foxton last week and for a deep drafted boat like ours it was like being on the main line. A pleasant change enhanced by several king fishers.

[the grinch]

boats have experienced flooding on the Southern Oxford at Banbury necessitating air rescue! seen first hand flooding on the Soar, Trent, GU, Lee and Stort and the worst has to have been the Nene where I got stuck at Wansford overnight as the headroom under the lock bridge was less than a foot!! and the following day I crept under by shifting coal bags around to first get the fore end under and then the stern only to get to Yarwell and had to wait a further 24 hours as couldn't get in to the lock there! on one trip I stopped below Hazleford on the Trent for lunch noticing a definite rise in level rose 2 foot in 25 minutes I headed for Newark quickly and just got through the flood gates as BW were arriving to shut them!!