Engineers work flat out to keep bay topped up

ENGINEERS are working overtime to keep water levels in Cardiff Bay topped up in the warm weather.

They have resorted to using every trick in the book to make sure pleasure boats can keep working and the wildlife does not suffer.

This week the Cardiff Harbour Authority (CHA) has restricted the operation of the locks at the barrage to just two every hour.

It has also blocked the ABP Dock Feeder channel, which takes water from the river Taff at Blackweir down to Cardiff Docks, so that the bay is given a chance to fill up.

This means that ABP, which manages the docks, must pump seawater into the docks to maintain levels. However, pumping seawater is an expensive job, and ABP can seek compensation for the additional operational costs from the Harbour Authority.

The last time the Dock feeder was shut off was in 2010.

A spokesman for the CHA, which runs the operational side of the barrage, confirmed that flows into the bay from the river Taff and river Ely were the lowest since the barrage was built in 2006. Less than three cumecs are flowing into the bay from the two rivers combined.

“We work with a very fine threshold in terms of water levels but we always keep a buffer so that the bay remains operational,” he said.

“We are not overly concerned. We are monitoring the situation, and talking to everyone who uses the bay. We have around 600mm to play with and we hope that the restrictions we have in place will allow levels to recover.”

Under the Cardiff Bay Barrage Act 1993, water levels must not fall below 4.0m OD. Any lower, and some boats cannot operate and the fish pass which allows fish to travel up the river Taff becomes exposed.