Going green

GOING 'GREEN' is all the rage now, but the Stourport Canal takes it too far!

But Canal & River Trust tell it is because temperatures were high last week, Janet Friend reports.

So it was caused by hotter weather increasing the growing months for invasive aquatic weeds.

Aquatic weeds like duckweed, floating pennywort and azolla grow extremely quickly on canals, especially in the warmer temperatures, which helps create the natural green phenomenon on the canal.

Leap into it

While not directly harmful, people, dogs and other animals, dogs mistake it for grass and leap onto it to find themselves sinking in the water. 

Canal and River Trust tell the proliferation of weed in summer isn’t new, but the hotter weather and fiercer storms that are becoming more common as a result of climate change are making the problem worse. Weed likes high temperatures, along with plenty of rain that washes nutrient from the surrounding area into the waterways.