A breach on the Llangollen Canal near New Mills Lift Bridge, Whitchurch, happened in the early hours of 22 December.
A distressing incident
The incident has been highly distressing for the boat owners affected, with footage online showing the situation unfolding. Heartbreakingly, two boats were washed into the breach hole.
Initially, a further boat, narrowboat Pacemaker, was precariously hanging over the breach hole but Trust colleagues were able to ensure it was saved, using a specialist ‘tracked’ winch bought in from Leicestershire to haul it away from the edge, at around 10pm on 23 December.
Dams put in by the Trust either side of the breach site meant that six further boats, initially grounded on the canal bed after the water beneath them ran out of the canal, were able to be carefully refloated on Christmas Eve.
Engineers and the local canal team have been on site over Christmas and New Year working to ensure that pipes and pumps are in place to safeguard a continued flow of water around the breach site so boats downstream are kept afloat. This is also important because of the role the Llangollen Canal (along with others across the UK) plays today in moving fresh water for public water supply.
Engineers have started investigations into the likely cause of the breach. Speaking from site on Friday 2 January, chief operating officer Julie Sharman said that the cause of earth embankment failures is not always clear. They can be complex structures, and whilst there are a number of possibilities as to what might be the cause, it is still too early to be certain. Julie also confirmed that repairs would take much of the year and cost several million pounds.
Recovering the remaining boats
This week attention will turn to recovering the three remaining boats: narrowboat Pacemaker, winched away from the breach hole before Christmas, and narrowboats Sefton and Ganymede which were washed into the breach hole.
Pacemaker will be refloated by winching the boat into a section of dry canal before installing a dam and refloating it with canal water.
Sefton and Ganymede are also likely to be winched from the breach site before they are assessed and hopefully refloated. Before that is possible, the Trust will need to bring in an excavator and carefully reprofile the steep side of the breach hole so that there is a gradual slope that the boats can be winched along.
Julie comments:
“We’re working out the best way to recover the boats and are likely to build a ramp for them to be towed out. It is believed Sefton was quite badly flooded, as it was the first boat that fell in and was believed to have had its doors open at the time. However, Ganymede is hoped to be in better condition with no sign of water breaching the vessel.”
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Canal & River Trust, comments:
“The Trust’s initial response was to make the site secure and ensure that boaters affected had adequate support, including those needing somewhere for them and their pets to stay.
“Then, over the Christmas period, we were able to install dams and get most of the boats impacted afloat. We were also able to get a flow of water around the breach site reinstated, so important for canal life downstream and for the vital role that this canal plays for public water supply. I’d like to thank colleagues and partners who have worked tirelessly over the holiday period to make these important actions happen.
“This week our attention turns to the recovery of the three remaining boats. This has been a deeply distressing time for these boat owners in particular. I’d like to thank those who have donated to the crowdfunder appeal arranged by the boating community to support them, as well as those donating to our longer-term task of getting this historic canal back open in the weeks and months ahead. Thankfully, breaches of this scale are relatively rare, but, when they do occur, they’re expensive and complicated to fix.”
