Canal & River Trust is bringing forward 16 additional water-saving projects across England and Wales this winter, investing £1.3 million to tackle leaks, repair lock gates and improve water supplies following two consecutive years of drought.
The Canal & River Trust is investing £1.3 million in 16 additional water-saving projects this winter following the severe drought experienced across England and Wales during summer 2026.
The projects are being added to the charity’s previously announced winter works programme of 136 lock gate replacements and other essential high-priority maintenance across the 2,000-mile canal network.
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Following two consecutive years of drought, the Trust has identified a further package of projects that will specifically help strengthen water resilience, building on the charity’s experience of problem areas over the summer.
The targeted programme will tackle significant leaks, repair lock gates and improve vital feeders that carry water into the canal network.
Additional work brought forward after drought
While these projects were already recognised as beneficial investments, the recent droughts have increased their urgency, prompting the Trust to bring them forward.
Despite the short lead times, the charity’s teams will do their best to complete the works ahead of the busier summer months alongside the existing planned winter programme.
The 16 projects span the network, from the Lancaster and Leeds & Liverpool canals in the north to the Kennet & Avon Canal in the south.
Where will the 16 projects take place?
The additional programme includes:
- Shropshire Union Canal: Replacing a lock gate at Hurleston, in addition to the existing winter gate replacement programme.
- Shropshire Union, Leeds & Liverpool, South Stratford and Trent & Mersey canals: Repairs to reduce leakage.
- Lancaster Canal: Work on Crooklands Feeder, which is critical to supplying the canal.
- Kennet & Avon Canal: Restoring Seend Feeder, which could supply five million litres of water a day.
- Reservoir feeders: Maintenance to Combs, Eshton Beck, Rudyard and Knypersley, and Heronsfield feeders to improve the supply of water from the reservoirs.
- Huddersfield Narrow, Leeds & Liverpool and Grand Union canals: Lock and paddle repairs.
- Oxford Canal: Work at Weir 32 to reduce water being lost to the River Cherwell.
Reducing water loss and protecting navigation
Together, the projects are designed to save significant quantities of water each day and help the Trust move water more effectively to the places where it is most needed.
They will also reduce the operational interventions, such as refilling pounds and locking up flights overnight, that are currently required to maintain water levels in some locations.
Malcolm Horne, chief operations officer at Canal & River Trust, said:
“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.”
Lessons learned from the summer drought
During the summer drought, the Trust activated its highest level of operational response and redirected resources towards retaining water and supporting navigation.
This included repairing lock gates and paddles, finding and fixing leaks, improving feeder channels and bringing forward work where temporary closures created opportunities to carry out repairs.
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.
Navigation restrictions and stoppage information
Details of any navigation restrictions needed to carry out the work will be published through the Trust’s notices and stoppages system.
For the latest information, visit Canal & River Trust – Notices and Stoppages.
