Boaters Bite Back in Canal Draining Dispute

Boaters Bite Back in Canal Draining Dispute

Last month Boaters had been blamed for a Canal that had run dry after locks had been misused.

 

But it seems that the upkeep is of concern and appears to make the locks more leaky.

 

Steve a boat owner said "The levels fluctuate owing to the leaking gates. On this occasion, a paddle was lifted, thus draining the pound overnight. It was in fact the second incident in a week for that flight of locks."

It's a popular venue in each of those areas.

 

"I think that because the canal and river trust are under a lot of pressure at the moment, as some are questioning their credibility as a navigation authority. The canal runs through Watford, Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted etc. Lock maintenance seems slow and left too long which escalates into a worse situation."

 

We asked how long it takes to fill back up, and was astonished to learn how complex the knock on affect was..

Steve explained "It can take a couple of hours. The Canal and River Trust staff will attend, manage an amount of water down through several locks from Berkhamsted , and refill the effected area. This will have a knock on effect by lowering the 'pounds' they have managed the water from. Thus requiring them to pump water from Tring reservoirs into the canal."

 

Tania Clarke had tweeted to the Canal & River Trust about the problem, and then it happened again few days later. On one occasion they were already dealing with it. She's heard many fellow boaters complain about maintenance on parts of the canal, vandalism and boaters not following the instructions.

 

The Canal & River Trust said the full blame was the with the users. Read previous story

 

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