Canal to close as reservoirs fall to lowest levels in over 80 years

British Waterways said 60 miles of the 127-mile Leeds and Liverpool Canal will be closed early next month, by which time the reservoirs which feed it are expected to have fallen to just 10 per cent of their capacity.

The closure to boating traffic aims to prevent the loss of water from the canal through the opening of locks, and maintain sufficient water levels in the waterway and reservoirs to protect fish and other wildlife.

The canal will be closed to boating from Wigan, Lancashire, to Gargrave, North Yorkshire, from August 2, while the western end of the waterway will be subject to restrictions on when locks can be opened.

One canal boat operator last night said it would be temporarily moving boats to Selby while another feared the closure might have longer-term implications because of the adverse publicity.

The water levels in the seven reservoirs which feed the canal would normally be expected to be around 80 per cent of their capacity at this time of year, according to British Waterways, which manages 2,200 miles of canals and rivers across the country.

But with the UK experiencing the driest first six months of the year for more than 80 years, the reservoirs are now at 28 per cent of their capacity and are expected to fall to just 10 per cent by the beginning of August.

As a result, British Waterways said it would be forced to close off the water supply.

Towpaths will remain open but the organisation urged people to take extra care to stay away from the edge as water levels fall.

Vince Moran, operations director for British Waterways, said unless there was significant rainfall in the next fortnight, the water supply would have to be shut off.

"Canals depend upon a complex system of reservoirs and rivers to remain topped up with water, however the lowest rainfall in almost a century combined with high temperatures has left the region's water supplies at record low levels," he added.

"We have been doing all we can over the last three months to conserve water levels within what is a popular and 200-year-old working canal, and we would only close it as a last resort."

Snaygill Boats, based at Bradley, near Skipton, said it had already begun contacting holidaymakers booked for August to advise them of the closure.

Director Jo Dortona said: "It's probably going to affect the entire summer holidays. Most schools break up at the end of July and the school holidays are always a peak.

"People want to go west towards Liverpool because that's the scenic route and that's how we advertise our company.

"It's affecting the business quite a lot and it depends on how long it's in force for. But there's not a lot we can do about it, it's rainfall at the end of the day. We're thinking it's possible it might have more impact next year. It might put people off future bookings.

"We could shout and scream about it but we know it wouldn't get us anywhere. At the end of the day it's not in our hands and we've all known this was a possibility.

Canal Boat Escapes, based at Barnoldswick, is moving its boats to Selby and said its holidaymakers had accepted the new arrangements.

Karen Holt, a partner in the business, said: "We had an inkling this could get worse so we made alternative arrangements to move out boats to Selby.

"In life you either lament or rise to the challenge and we have risen to the challenge. Lamenting it would have led to failure. If we'd done nothing it would have decimated our business."