Now comes the water shortage

THE Canal & River Trust are asking boaters to 'save water' on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal as there is a water shortage.

Amongst the list of ways in which boaters can help preserve water on this canal is one to 'report leaks', Keith Gudgin reports.

Nothing is done

Yet time and time again boaters have told us of reporting leaks but nothing is done, their receiving the excuse of the shortage of money.

We too have reported an untold number of leaking gates—with photographs, yet cruising through the same locks a year later they are still leaking, but this is something that all boaters must be aware of.

Still leaking

The photograph shows one of a badly leaking lock on the Bingley Five  Rise sent by a boater a while ago, who told us it had been like that for years. There was a television programme last week on the building of the Leeds & Liverpool showing these locks, with most of them clearly seen still leaking...

The trust tells that the long-range forecast for the next couple of months looks dry so if boaters want to be boating all summer long, as ever they had better look after the water. Boaters need to work together to save water, so have introduced what it calls the 'Thrift Code':

'Thrift Code'

Two in a Lock?—Share locks
Help keep it in—Make sure gates and paddles are shut
Report any leaks—Tell us
Invite oncoming boats through—Don’t empty or fill locks if someone else can make use of the water
Find another favourite—Explore less busy parts of the network
Think ahead—Plan cruises to minimise use of locks.

Perhaps a 'Thrift Code' would be an excellent idea for CaRT itself, considering the millions recently spent on all those (non-boating) directors, the multitude of new signs and and the waste caused by a silly logo change. Then perhaps there would be money to repair those leaks.