Low water level in canal due to dry spell

long dry spell.”

The spokeswoman added: “Every time a boat goes through a lock it uses 300,000 litres of water which could be pushed further down the canal. There can also be a problem with lock gates leaking if they have been there for very many years and need repairing or replacing.”

She said canals do need rain even though many are fed direct from reservoirs.

“Some rain certainly would be very nice right now,” she said. “It would help the whole system. There can also be problems caused by water simply evaporating.”

Construction of the canal began in 1794 and was finished on April 4, 1811, when workers from both sides met at Diggle, in Saddleworth.

It is estimated that 50 people died in the canal’s construction and it remained in operation until 1944.

In 1956 the canal at Slaithwaite was filled in and the water piped underground.

After 27 years of campaigning and restoration by the Huddersfield Canal Society the canal was fully re-opened to navigation in 2001.

Today the 20-mile canal runs from ‘Lock 1E’ (now the site of the University of Huddersfield’s Canalside Buildings) to Ashtonunder-Lyne, through 74 locks.

It includes the Standedge Tunnel, which at three miles long, is Britain’s longest canal tunnel.