Keeping London's canal boats afloat during drought

Drought conditions in the capital mean that London's waterways are being more actively managed to maintain water levels.

In west London on the Grand Union Canal, the gates of six locks known as the Hanwell Flight have been locked up at night with their paddles shut to prevent misuse that impacts the canal downstream.

Colin Beesley, waterway operative at Canal and River Trust, described the situation as "unprecedented", adding: "It's been one of the driest summers we've ever seen and of course there's been virtually no rain.

"Because this drought has been extending for so long, we've made the decision to lock this flight of locks overnight."

Additionally, all of the lock gates have been "ashed up", a traditional method of sealing gaps between planks in lock gates with coal dust to hold water in.

The action on the Hanwell Flight has helped maintain water levels at the "Long Pound", a 27 mile (43.4km) lock-free stretch which encompasses the Grand Union Main Line, Paddington Arm and Regent's Canal all the way to Camden.

In east London, closures are also helping to manage the water levels.

Charlotte Wood, head of operations at the Canal and River Trust, explained that they have closed the Hertford Union Canal, a 1.2 mile (2km) long stretch of water that acts as a short-cut from the Regent's Canal to the River Lee, avoiding the River Thames.

Wood said the "non-critical" route near Victoria Park was closed so that water coming in from west London from the Hanwell Flight area and beyond went into central London.

"We're keeping the Regent's Canal open for as long as possible for our boats to move and to keep afloat," she added.

In Hanwell, boats are still allowed to travel through the canal during the day, but for boaters like Paul Findlay, the drought has made things much more challenging.

"It's kind of the new normal really," he said. "You have to get used to it in the summer months.

"It needs careful management by both the boaters and the people looking after the canals.

"If we work together we can help keep it as good as it can be."

Nicholas Jones, area operations manager at the Canal and River Trust, said they were using an app to monitor water levels, and were also keeping a close eye on the weather, adding that he was "deeply desperate" for rain to return to the capital.

"We get hopeful whenever it starts to speckle slightly, but it generally never arrives," he said.

This stretch of the Grand Union Canal has been open since 1794 - all the locks need now is more water to fill them.

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