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L & L - probable closure coming at Gargrave/Barnoldswick


PaulJ

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This pic shows what it's all about, really (Foulridge Lower Reservoir today).  90 percent of the picture should be water.  Where I'm standing is normally 4ft deep.

Incidentally, why is the proposed closure only as far as Gargrave?  Is there a different feeder below that? The new restrictions at Bingley are a bit worrying. I thought that once I got to Skipton I could relax and give it my full attention instead of this rather pressurised 'race against drought' boating.   Next thing the River Aire at Leeds will become too shallow to navigate or feed the A&C........... 

Foulridge drought.jpg

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On 13/07/2018 at 10:17, rgreg said:

Would anyone like to predict whether the Oxford summit may be closed within the next 4 weeks? 

I don't think so, there was more rain down here than up north. And they put restrictions on opening hours before a compete closure. 

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On 13/07/2018 at 17:29, Mac of Cygnet said:

This pic shows what it's all about, really (Foulridge Lower Reservoir today).  90 percent of the picture should be water.  Where I'm standing is normally 4ft deep.

Incidentally, why is the proposed closure only as far as Gargrave?  Is there a different feeder below that? The new restrictions at Bingley are a bit worrying. I thought that once I got to Skipton I could relax and give it my full attention instead of this rather pressurised 'race against drought' boating.   Next thing the River Aire at Leeds will become too shallow to navigate or feed the A&C........... 

Although the Yorkshire end of the canal is fed from the summit, Winterburn Reservoir also feeds into the canal below the bottom lock at Gargrave via Eshton Beck. This was one of the first supplies to the canal when this section opened in 1773, though they were also allowed to take water from several streams between Skipton and Bingley. The number of streams feeding this section was reduced by Act of Parliament after the summit was opened. When Winterburn Reservoir was built, compensation water had to be fed into the Beck to keep a flow, probably to keep the fishing open for the local landowner. This was based on the water collection area for the reservoir. In the 1930s, it was realised that supplying compensation water for what were called 'flashy' streams was not the best solution. The flow in such streams should be allowed to rise and fall with weather conditions, and that was certainly the case with Eshton Beck. However, the legislation never got through Parliament, so today the EA demand that the flow in Eshton Beck is kept above a set level, preserving a man-made environment rather than a natural one.

At Gargrave there is a second compensation water requirement, this time to keep the River Aire flowing. When Winterburn Reservoir was built, there were at least two sewage works discharging into the river, and the compensation water, based on the collection area of Eshton Beck above the canal at Gargrave, was there for health reasons, to ensure the sewage was washed away. If you stop at the derelict gauge house above Gargrave bottom lock, you can still see the control system which regulated the two compensation waters. That for Eshton Beck was higher, so any excess was fed into the canal.

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Has there been any mention of restricting the use of the locks on the Rufford Branch?  

 

If boaters are allowed to continue using them, it's going to lower the level of the pound below Appley Lock. 

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No and no mention of the Blackburn flight either although that’s most likely CRT office staff not realising ?

 

looking at the crt published reservoir levels the L&L levels are significantly higher currently than they were in 2010 at this time which begs the question why are Crt closing the canal again ? Seems a bit of a panic reaction. 

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9 hours ago, jonathanA said:

No and no mention of the Blackburn flight either although that’s most likely CRT office staff not realising ?

 

looking at the crt published reservoir levels the L&L levels are significantly higher currently than they were in 2010 at this time which begs the question why are Crt closing the canal again ? Seems a bit of a panic reaction. 

 

Possibly because weather forecasts have improved considerably in that time, and no significant rain is expected in he next month.  They are taking pro-active measures to preserve water supplies for the several hire companies in the pound around Skipton.

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Just spent a few days bumbling around the Skipton area. Noticed the the boat was lying a bit lower than usual before setting off. Left our on line mooring last Thursday.......at least I tried to. Cast off all ropes and engaged forward. Lots of noise and churning but no motion. Hmm! Fender fouled somewhere? Engine in neutral and give the boat a bit of a push to work out what's going on. Boat moves freely. Hmm!! Engine again... Repeat until the penny drops. Boat just about floating until the prop drags it down onto the bottom. So, left mooring under man power until there was enough depth to drive away. File that experience away for future reference.

 

Tide mark down by around 9 to 12 inches around the area. Not sure what effect Gargrave / summit pound closure and continued operation of Bingley will have on the pound despite its length.

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4 hours ago, Opener said:

Just spent a few days bumbling around the Skipton area. Noticed the the boat was lying a bit lower than usual before setting off. Left our on line mooring last Thursday.......at least I tried to. Cast off all ropes and engaged forward. Lots of noise and churning but no motion. Hmm! Fender fouled somewhere? Engine in neutral and give the boat a bit of a push to work out what's going on. Boat moves freely. Hmm!! Engine again... Repeat until the penny drops. Boat just about floating until the prop drags it down onto the bottom. So, left mooring under man power until there was enough depth to drive away. File that experience away for future reference.

 

Tide mark down by around 9 to 12 inches around the area. Not sure what effect Gargrave / summit pound closure and continued operation of Bingley will have on the pound despite its length.

 

Ive been on that pound for the past three days, including in Skipton.  It is nowhere near 9 to 12 inches down.  I estimate 4 to 5 inches.

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On 12/07/2018 at 19:18, TheBiscuits said:

Interesting that they don't mention Blackburn flight or Johnson's Hillock flight. 

 

Maybe they have no one in the office who knows they exist! 

It seems they found the extra lock flights. 

 

The stoppage notice now includes both of them. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Notice Alert

Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Starts At: Lock 29, Bingley 5 Rise Top Lock
Ends At: Lock 1, River Lock

Friday 17 August 2018 08:00 until further notice

Type: Navigation Closure 
Reason: Water resources


 

Original message:

 

Due to the continued drawdown of the river levels, the prolonged low rainfall and with the forecast for further dry weather, the Trust will be implementing temporary closures to navigation between Bingley 5 Rise Top Lock(Lock 29) to River Lock (Lock 1) at the beginning of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, commencing on Friday 17th August. 

 

The main lock flights will be padlocked closed at Bingley Three and Five Rise (Locks 22-29), Field (Locks 16-18), Newlay (Locks 11-13), Forge (Locks 8-10) and the gates will be ashed up to reduce leakage.  Additionally to prevent unauthorised use, measures will be taken to make all the locks inoperable within this section.  

 

It’s not clear how long the closure will last for but it’s likely to be throughout August and potentially beyond if there is no significant, sustained rainfall. While the closure will prevent use of that stretch of canal by boats the towpath will remain open for visitors and the local community alike to enjoy.

 

The canal will remain open between Holme Bridge, Gargrave and the top of the Bingley 5 Rise Locks, approximately 20 miles

You can view this notice and its map online here:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/13694/closure-bingley-5-rise-to-river-lock-low-water-levels

Edited by TheBiscuits
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This is the latest update from C&RT about our canal, looks like no one is going anywhere from the 17th

 

Notice Alert

Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Starts At: Lock 29, Bingley 5 Rise Top Lock
Ends At: Lock 1, River Lock

Friday 17 August 2018 08:00 until further notice

Type: Navigation Closure
Reason: Water resources

Original message:

Due to the continued drawdown of the river levels, the prolonged low rainfall and with the forecast for further dry weather, the Trust will be implementing temporary closures to navigation between Bingley 5 Rise Top Lock(Lock 29) to River Lock (Lock 1) at the beginning of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, commencing on Friday 17th August. 

The main lock flights will be padlocked closed at Bingley Three and Five Rise (Locks 22-29), Field (Locks 16-18), Newlay (Locks 11-13), Forge (Locks 8-10) and the gates will be ashed up to reduce leakage.  Additionally to prevent unauthorised use, measures will be taken to make all the locks inoperable within this section.  

It’s not clear how long the closure will last for but it’s likely to be throughout August and potentially beyond if there is no significant, sustained rainfall. While the closure will prevent use of that stretch of canal by boats the towpath will remain open for visitors and the local community alike to enjoy.

The canal will remain open between Holme Bridge, Gargrave and the top of the Bingley 5 Rise Locks, approximately 20 miles

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  • 3 weeks later...

We've had a hire boat booked with Silsden Boats since the new year, commencing Mon 3rd Sept 'til Fri 7th. Just given them a ring, in view of the recent rainfall, they told me that the Bingley 5 rise is reopening Fri 31st for two hours, 10 'til 12 going down and two hours 1 'til 3 coming back up.

 

Pete

Edited by Pete Glynn
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3 minutes ago, Pete Glynn said:

We've had a hire boat booked with Silsden Boats since the new year, commencing Mon 3rd Sept 'til Fri 7th. Just given them a ring, in view of the recent rainfall, they told me that the Bingley 5 rise is reopening Fri 31st for two hours, 10 'til 12 going down and two hours 1 'til 3 coming back up.

 

Pete

A number of years ago we hired a boat on the L & L arrived at thew 5 rise only to be told that as we were a hire boat they couldn't let us down.  Reason given - they might not have enough water to get us back up!

 

I hasten to add that IIRC there were no restrictions on the locks at the time.   However going the other way from Skipton the canal was closed and indeed dry.

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They've now decided to open a bit more of the canal, if only they'd do the same further west  !

 

 

Notice Alert

Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Starts At: Lock 13, Newlay Top Lock
Ends At: Lock 1, River Lock

Wednesday 29 August 2018 13:00 until further notice

Type: Navigation Restriction
Reason: Water resources

Update on 04/09/2018:

Following further rainfall and the recovery of water levels, we are reopening the canal from the top of Newlay locks to River Lock tomorrow.

 Newlay to Kirstall locks will be open between 10:00 till 12:00 for downstream traffic and between 13:00 and 15:00 for upstream traffic on a daily basis.

 We will continue to monitor on a daily basis and will provide further updates accordingly.

Original message:

The canal remains closed from the top of Newlay locks to River Lock.

We will continue to carefully monitor our water resources and update this notice as the situation changes; if the situation improves we will consider reopening the canal through to Leeds.

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