Canal at risk of running dry
THE Sankey Canal could soon run dry at Spike Island in Widnes as a result of Fiddlers Ferry shutting down unless another water source is found.
Halton Borough Council said the waterway has been kept supplied by the power station pumping station since the early 1980s. Fiddlers Ferry shut down in March and is now undergoing a years-long decommissioning process.
Its owners SSE energy company will continue to pump water until around July but will then gradually ease off until it no longer pumps.
Halton Council said it has been working with Warrington Borough Council to develop plans to keep the canal fed, and at present the most likely solution is to use Sankey Brook to supply it with water.
The council is also looking to install a swing bridge as part of the works.
A Halton Council spokesman said: “At the end of the decommissioning there will be no power station and therefore the water supply that has been relied upon for decades will no longer exist.
“For the past 10 years Halton Borough Council, working in partnership with Warrington Borough Council, has been working to address this situation.
“The most realistic and sustainable solution that has been identified is to use the Sankey Brook as a feed for the canal.
“This will require some major engineering and Warrington Council, supported by Halton, is currently working on this, but it will take a couple of years to bring this about. This means that the current water levels within the canal cannot be guaranteed.
“Halton Council remains committed to the historic Sankey Canal and we would still like to restore it to navigation between Spike Island and Fiddlers Ferry. To that end we will be installing a swing bridge at Spike Island on the site of the iron swing bridge that had first been installed in 1833.
“We are hoping that work will commence on that project this year.
“We are also currently working up a project to restore the river slipway at Spike Island so that boats could be directly launched into the river.”