Cyanide cleared from Walsall Canal

ALL THE CYANIDE has been cleared from the Walsall Canal, Canal & River Trust have declared.

It only remains for the samples to be processed and cleared then the navigation will be reopened.

Navigation closed

This concerns the area between Tame Valley No 1 Bridge and Birchills Junction, including Walsall Lock Flight that is at present closed.

The trust announce that dredging operations to remove cyanide-contaminated silt from the Walsall Canal have now been completed. This marks a major milestone in the ecological recovery of the canal and progress towards its eventual reopening to boating traffic.

Water samples have now been taken and we are currently awaiting the results. These results will determine whether the water is safe and if any further action is required before the canal can be reopened.

This is a crucial step in the canal’s ecological recovery, as mandated by the Environment Agency, and a significant milestone towards the eventual reopening of the waterway to boating traffic.

August last year

It was in August last year that chemicals, including cyanide, were inadvertently released into the Walsall Canal it then being closed to navigation.

At that time a senior lecturer in geosciences, Dr Jonathan Paul, claimed the situation [with the cyanide spill] would hopefully be resolved within a week.  How wrong can one be...?