A HUGE AND COMPLEX civil engineering project in Wigan is showing no sign of reaching a conclusion after a water main burst underneath the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, writes I Dugald Campbell.
United Utilities and Canal & River Trust experts are both involved in the operation on a stretch of the waterway at Platt Bridge.
Water drained away
Because there are no locks nearby, dams had to be created at either side of the rupture and then the water drained away so that work could then start on mending the pipe. Further engineering work would then have to be carried out to ensure the canal itself doesn’t then leak when refilled.
The operation began on Thursday August 14th and United Utilities is still unable to predict when the canal will be usable by boats again, much to some users’ annoyance.
The image shows the drained Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Platt Bridge
One canal boat owner complained:
“This is one of my favourite stretches of waterway and I can’t get through.
"Typical that this should happen in the summer when the canals are at their busiest, although I appreciate there must be a lot of tough work to do get things fixed.”
Water discoloration
So far there has been no to little impact on United Utilities customers, apart from some slight water discoloration. It is recommending that if this recurs, residents should simply open the tap until the water runs clean.
Bottles of drinking water have been delivered to homes with vulnerable residents in the area, as a precaution, but so far they have not been needed.
The image shows a dam is in place at either end of the canal section under which the burst pipe passes
A United Utilities spokesperson, told:
“We identified a leak on a water main than runs under the Leeds Liverpool Canal in Platt Bridge.
“Due to the location, we have had to work with the Canal & River Trust to drain a section of the canal to allow our teams to carry out work in a safe environment.
"It is a complex job, but the main has now been isolated and our teams will be working as quickly as they can to carry out the repairs.
"Due to the complexity of them, we’re going to be carrying out some further surveys and monitoring.
"We need to ensure everything can be carried out safely whilst also ensuring we keep customers on supply.”
United Utilities promised a further update next week.