Lock flights on the Macclesfield & Peak Forest canals will be closed from June 24th, so no through passage for an unspecified period, because the normal water supply reservoirs at Toddbrook and Bosley are both empty. The locks will be closed for at least several weeks, longer if there is little rainfall. It looks like wider restrictions may be coming.
Boats queuing to leave the Macclesfield Canal in 2020 during a similar water shortage & canal closure.
Toddbrook reservoir at Whaley Bridge was emptied three years ago because of a disintegrating spillway which threatened to engulf the Derbyshire town. The £15 million repair has just begun but will not be completed until 2024 and it may then take many months for the reservoir to fully fill. Bosley reservoir was purposely emptied over the winter to allow maintenance works.
According to Canal and River Trust, recent rainfall and navigation restrictions have not resulted in the reservoirs receiving any significant refilling, most of the rainwater getting absorbed into an already very dry landscape.
CRT state: ‘We hope that by providing 2 weeks’ notice it will help our customers plan their upcoming journeys or move to alternative locations to avoid the impact of the closures on their cruising plans.
We apologise for the inconvenience and disruption this may cause to your boating plans. By implementing these closures, we hope it will allow boaters to plan your journeys knowing what to expect over the summer months as our teams continue to work hard to conserve water at every opportunity.’
Canal and River Trust warned earlier this year that there will be much less water than normal to support navigation right across the North West this spring and summer. Water from these reservoirs also directly supplies the Trent and Mersey and Ashton canals and then other North West canals.
Water supplies and unrestricted cruising in the North West seem unlikely to get back to normal for the next few years.
Some of this information taken from the CRT Closure Notice 7/6/2022, more information and updates on the CRT website.
