Canal & River Trust brings forward 16 projects after drought
A canal affected by drought. Image courtesy of Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust will spend £1.3m on 16 water-saving projects this winter after severe drought hit England and Wales in summer 2026. Its winter programme already includes 136 lock gate replacements and other maintenance across the 2,000-mile canal network.
The trust had already identified the work, but two consecutive years of drought, particularly affecting England, have made it more urgent. This summer saw ongoing periods of dry weather and low water levels across Britain, which the trust says helped staff decide which repairs to bring forward. The aim is to finish the work before canal traffic picks up next summer.
On the Kennet & Avon Canal, the trust plans to restore Seend Feeder, which could supply 5m litres of water a day. Further north, crews will work on Crooklands Feeder, an important source of water for the Lancaster Canal. The trust also plans maintenance on several feeders to improve the flow of water from reservoirs. These include the Combs, Eshton Beck, Rudyard and Knypersley, and Heronsfield feeders.
A lock gate at Hurleston on the Shropshire Union Canal is now due for replacement this winter. Crews will also tackle leaks on the Shropshire Union, Leeds & Liverpool, South Stratford and Trent & Mersey canals. Lock and paddle repairs are planned on the Huddersfield Narrow, Leeds & Liverpool and Grand Union canals. On the Oxford Canal, work at Weir 32 aims to reduce the amount of water the canal loses to the River Cherwell.
The trust says it expects the repairs to help it get water to stretches where levels run low. In some places, staff should have less need to close flights of locks overnight or refill pounds (the stretches of water between locks).
Malcolm Horne, chief operations officer at the Canal & River Trust, says: “We have used what we learned during the summer to identify the repairs that can make the greatest difference to making the canal network more resilient to drought. By prioritising these 16 projects alongside our existing winter programme, we are investing in the places where work on leaks, lock gates, and feeders will strengthen the network and help protect navigation.
“Our canals are more than 200 years old and were not designed for the increasingly frequent extremes of weather we are now experiencing. We cannot remove every risk, but targeted investment of this kind will make the network more resilient and help us keep canals available for boaters, businesses, communities and wildlife.”
During the summer drought, the trust says it activated its “highest level of operational response” and redirected resources to conserve water and keep canals open to navigation. Staff traced and repaired leaks, fixed lock gates and paddles, and improved feeder channels. Where canals had to close temporarily, crews took the opportunity to carry out repairs ahead of schedule.
A survey showed boater satisfaction had fallen after this summer’s drought disruption. In its 2026 Annual Boaters’ Survey results, Canal & River Trust found overall satisfaction at 50 per cent, down from 55 per cent in 2025 but remaining above the 2024 low point of 46 per cent.
In a statement, the trust says: “The canals’ age and construction mean that it is neither practical nor possible to eliminate every leak. The trust therefore prioritises problems that present the greatest threat to infrastructure, water supply, and navigation: reducing avoidable water loss and improving the movement of water around the network.”
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