Thank you for your continuing coverage of the sorry state, that our beloved canals have been reduced to, writes Roger Baker.
A couple of weeks ago we got wind of water supply and leakage problems at Fradley and wanted to play safe and be back to our mooring before something terrible was discovered by the upcoming CART inspection on the 19th and we could be stuck somewhere unfortunate.
On Sunday the 17th we moved our boat up from Alrewas back to our berth at Kings Bromley. After arriving at Common Lock, I was dismayed to find that the next pound was about 14” down. We struggled up the middle, observing the offside moored boats listing and obviously well aground. We eventually managed to reach the next lock, after which levels seemed normal until we were held back for a while below the lock at the junction whilst the Shadehouse pound was being filled by CART volunteers.
On Friday 29th August morning at 0700 I decided to visit Fradley to see for myself how both the pound between Shadehouse and Middle locks was looking, and to see how far down the Coventry Canal at the junction looked. I observed a couple flushing water from the Coventry down the locks, in an effort to re-float their boat below the flight. Having chatted with them it seems that this practice has been going on for some weeks, which explains how the level on the Coventry, as I observed there, was a good 12” down.
I was told CART were aware, and the issue is badly leaking gates at either end of Common Lock, and this running down water has been going on for a good while, both by boaters and CART staff. Some of the boats moored there that have actually been able to move from those moorings already have relocated to Handsacre and beyond, as well as Alrewas as the situation is expected to worsen.
It doesn’t take much of an imagination to envisage an emergency and entirely necessary closure of the Trent & Mersey at Fradley for either of the two leaking pounds (or both) in the coming days or weeks. I think stop planks above Common Lock would help and perhaps prevent the moorers taking water all the way from Glascote on a daily basis only for it to vanish from under them by the following morning.
There can’t be much water if any at all, coming down from Glascote. The Trent & Mersey, Fradley and Coventry level water supply is now entirely dependent on upstream on the Trent & Mersey and that from the Staffs and Worcs, a good proportion of which most likely vanishes between the Shadehouse and Middle locks during the day when replenished, overnight, and in the course of refilling it every morning on a daily basis.
I understand CART are going to have yet another look at that pound but not until the 9th, by which time the way this seems to be unfolding I guess it will soon be 'game over' as far as there being sufficient water for moving any boats between Glascote and the Trent below Alrewas lock is concerned.
We may all soon be reduced to adapting to paddle boards to get about, just as long as the pontoons of floating Pennywort will permit at least..