THE WELFORD ARM ON THE Leicester Section of the Grand Union Canal will reopen for one day later this month.
Remain closed
Then it will remain closed until further notice, Keith Gudgin reports.
This is due to ongoing water resource pressures, Canal & River Trust tells with Welford Lock being closed from 9am on Monday 16th November until 9am on Saturday 21st November. The lock gates will be ashed during this period to help conserve water.
Then it adds (that is not really understandable):
The lock will reopen at 9am on Saturday 21st November, providing a final opportunity over the weekend for boaters to navigate either into Welford Wharf or off the Welford Arm.
The Trust tell that Welford Lock will then close again at 4pm on Monday 23rd November and remain closed until further notice, with the gates again being ashed to minimise water loss.
Minimum operating levels
This is caused as the group of reservoirs has now reached their minimum operating levels and must be removed from canal supply to safeguard remaining water resources and maximise the opportunity for winter refill.
The method of ‘ashing involves pouring the ash into the canal just above a lock. The flow of water then sucks the ash into the small gaps in the gates allowing them to form a totally watertight seal.
This maintains water levels when water is in short supply.