City centre canals left as 'grim eyesore' after being 'purposefully drained'

Yahoo

21 hours ago

The Canals and River Trust has issued a statement following reports that the Ashton and Rochdale canals in Manchester city centre are at extremely low levels.
Local residents and passers-by say they began noticing the problem in the last week - although New Islington resident Cameron, who lives on Ashton Canal, says the issue goes back further.
"For about two weeks the water level has been slowly going down," he told the M.E.N. "We normally love sitting outside and watching the boats go by but we haven't seen one for about three weeks.
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"The canal is a real attraction, we often get people coming to take pictures of it from Great Ancoats Street bridge - but now it's an eyesore, it's just grim.
"It's barely a foot deep in the middle and you just see glass, bikes, trolleys and bottles lying in the dried-up dirt."
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Ashton Canal runs into Manchester city centre from the east, passing from Ashton-under-Lyne through Openshaw and New Islington before joining up with Rochdale Canal at the Piccadilly Basin, just north of Ducie Street.
Cameron says the canal passing under Great Ancoats Street to the basin is 'completely drained'.
Photos sent into the M.E.N this week appear to confirm this, showing the once-picturesque spot left a mostly dried-up mass of sludge, pebbles and traffic cones.
But the problems appear to persist further along the waterway. A photo posted to the Manchester subreddit, apparently taken from Albion Bridge close to Deansgate Locks, showed that part of Rochdale Canal also extremely low, and completely dry in places.
The M.E.N previously reported on the falling water levels at New Islington marina, leading boaters living on the water to fear their boats could be damaged.
The Canal and River Trust (CRT) acknowledged there to be 'some leakage' at one of the lock gates but said it was in good condition with 'no replacement scheduled'.
While several on social media have attributed the low water levels in Ashton and Rochdale Canal to the exceptionally hot and dry summer, the CRT say weather is only part of the problem.
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the trust said: 'Our charity is dealing with the after-effects of people purposefully draining water from the Ashton Canal, and from lock 84 downwards on the Rochdale Canal.
"Unfortunately, this isn't the first time this has happened recently, and we've reported it to the police.
'Lock 91 has also been damaged, which means we cannot fill that pound until the repairs have been completed next week. On top of that we're in a drought, which is having a serious impact on the reservoirs that supply water to our region's canals.
'We're working extremely hard to manage water levels in the area, and the canal above New Islington Marina is improving, but the lack of water is extremely challenging and means the situation can change very quickly.
'To help save water during these drought conditions, we'd like to remind people that the canal locks into Manchester remain temporarily closed to navigation.
"We'd also like to thank our boating customers, and our partners, for working with us and for their understanding.
"Our priority remains to reopen the canal as soon as we have enough rain to top up our reservoirs to sufficient levels."
It is not the first time such an incident has taken place this summer. Cheshire Police have launched an investigation following the draining of a two-mile stretch of the Trent and Mersey Canal, in what appears to be an act of vandalism.