Praying for rain on the straight and narrow

The words "drought" and "Yorkshire" have not been seen together much these last few summers. Rarer still is the sight of arguably the most picturesque canal in England reduced – on some small stretches – to a trickling and very muddy stream.

The dry spring and early summer have left the seven reservoirs that feed many parts of the canal at record low capacity, forcing the total shutdown of 60 miles of the waterway between Wigan, in Lancashire, and Gargrave near Skipton, although the towpaths are open as normal.

In its 200-year-history, nothing like it has happened quite on this scale on the Leeds-Liverpool. Many craft which normally spend their time in the now closed-off section, have moved east to avoid being stranded. And several hireboat operators have also relocated so that summer bookings can still be honoured.

It's a steep learning curve, not just for British Waterways, who operate and maintain the 127-mile canal, but also for hundreds of boaters who have been forced to move their craft.

And it has thrown into chaos the normally smooth-running timetable which decrees that the network runs from early March to Week 42 in the calendar at the end of October, followed by a winter shutdown for vital repairs and maintenance.

British Waterways have been leafing through the Leeds Liverpool records and found that the lowest-ever rainfall was measured between January and June of this year, accounting for the reservoirs drying up on a hitherto unknown scale.

The last time closure was necessary was in the final two weeks of the 1995 season, following a famously hot summer. It seems that even the great drought of summer 1976 did not manage to put the canal out of action.

Winterburn, the only British Waterways reservoir on the Yorkshire side of the Pennines, has been closed to canal abstraction because there is also a statutory requirement for it to feed compensation water into Eshton Beck, a tributary of the River Aire and vital for removal of treated sewage from local villages. It was decided there was not enough water for both Eshton Beck and the canal.

However, the canal between Skipton and Leeds is likely to escape closure because its water sources – a series of feeder streams – are supplying sufficient quantities to keep the canal at the required level.

Neil D'Arcy, British Waterways' senior water engineer for the north of England, said there are signs that water resources for the two other transpennine canals – the Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow – have fared better, although increased traffic demands on them caused by the Leeds-Liverpool closure means there is an outside chance they may be affected later in the year.

"But, at the moment, we are quite optimistic we can keep them running for the rest of the season," he added.

The closure has inspired many boat owners to move out of the Leeds-Liverpool and join freight routes like the Selby and Doncaster canals.

"People are finding a completely different kind of waterways experience there," said Neil. "And if they like, they can head south into the East Midlands. We may have closed 60 miles of the Leeds Liverpool but something like 2,140 miles of the waterways network is still functioning as normal."

Back on the Leeds-Liverpool, there is no prospect of the closure being lifted for several weeks, although it could be earlier if the weather changes.

Said Neil: "What we want is a nice Atlantic weather front to come through and drop a lot of rainfall on us."

The shutdown has at least allowed many repairs that were scheduled for the coming winter, to be brought forward. New timber lock gates are being fitted at Greenberfield, near Barnoldswick, while others are having paddles and sluices fixed or gates temporarily removed for refurbishment.

British Waterways hopes that if the winter maintenance programme is completed early enough, then the Leeds-Liverpool may be open through the Christmas and New Year period and remain so until October 2011.

The closure is illustrated most dramatically at Bank Newton Lock, to the west of Gargrave, where there is a substantial distance between two flights of lock gates. This gap has been virtually drained, leaving a large area of exposed mud and also necessitating an emergency rescue operation for fish and white-clawed crayfish.

Phillippa Baron, senior ecologist with British Waterways, said that levels on the main stretches of canal (known as pounds) will be maintained by fitting watertight boards over lock gates to hold in the water, saving fish and other wildlife.

"We're monitoring these pounds, and if there is any sign of fish in distress, we will take action."

Herons have been quick to exploit the reduced level, moving in to feed in the shallow streams left running between some lock flights. Normally, the water would be too deep for them.

The closure could have spelled disaster for the canal's latest big venture, a luxury boutique-style hotel aboard a 60ft-long canalboat, Lady Teal. Only a few weeks ago, it commenced operations from Reedley, near Burnley, in the middle of the closed stretch of canal.

Having now involuntarily moved east to Skipton, the 250,000 cruiser is taking its guests on what the co-owner, Georgina Alexander, admitted is a far more exciting length of the Leeds-Liverpool than she had planned.

"We're now running between Skipton and Leeds, which, of course, means we go through the famous five-rise locks at Bingley, and our customers also get to enjoy visits to the National Trust property at East Riddleston Hall and the World Heritage Site of Saltaire before reaching the waterfront area of Leeds," she said.

"It's perhaps the best stretch of all on the Leeds-Liverpool. Maybe Lady Teal should be renamed Lady Luck."

CW 14/8/10