NAVIGATION IS CLOSED between Lock 81 and Lock 82 on the Rochdale Canal.
As the temporary repair last September of a culvert has failed, Keith Gudgin reports.
Low water levels
This has resulted in low water levels along the pounds of the canal that will not now support navigation. The picture shows the empty pound in September last year before the temporary culvert was inserted.
Canal & River Trust confirms that this has effected New Islington Marina, as was suggested in our article yesterday. The trust tells that initial investigations have confirmed that the temporary repair failed due to a combination of factors.
Its engineering teams are continuing to investigate these in detail, alongside identifying the requirements for a permanent repair, with a strong focus remains on returning New Islington Marina to full water levels and improving conditions in the surrounding area.
Begin work today
The trust tells that from today, Thursday, contractors will be on site to begin work to install temporary dams. These will stabilise the canal and prevent any further loss of water.
It adding—that once the dam is securely in place, we will carry out a controlled refill of the canal. This process will take several days, but at this stage we expect water levels to begin to normalise by the weekend.