Hidden leak likely cause of canal breach

A canal breach that caused a giant hole, leaving boats stuck, was likely caused by a "long-term deep-seated leak" and a "steep-sided, high embankment predominantly constructed of sand," according to the Canal and River Trust.

A major incident was declared on a stretch of the Llangollen Canal in Whitchurch in December, with two narrowboats left at the bottom of a trench and a third hanging over the edge.

The trust said while an investigation was ongoing, it was likely there was a leak beneath the canal bed, undetectable to its inspection regime.

Its chief executive, Campbell Robb, said: "The breach at Whitchurch was a distressing and frightening experience for all those affected."

He added: "We remain deeply sorry for the impact this event has had on boaters and the wider community".

The long-term leakage is thought to have eroded material below the canal bed and created a void, ultimately resulting in collapse.

The trust said that the investigation, which continues while the site is drained and cleared, had not identified other factors at play such as heavy rainfall, overtopping, fallen trees or animal excavations.

Final conclusions cannot be drawn until the site has been fully cleared and the investigation completed, including inspections of two nearby culverts which are currently not thought to be contributory factors.

Robb said that breaches of this scale "remain extremely rare" and the trust was taking forward "a number of recommendations from the investigation".

"We have a comparable inspection regime to organisations looking after similar infrastructure but we are augmenting this, including exploring different methods of geophysical surveying technology to better inspect beneath canal beds."

Last week, about 1,000 stranded fish were rescued from a pool of water in a nearby farmer's field.

The Canal and River Trust said that while repairs to the canal would take most of the year, it was already progressing getting the navigation back open as quickly as possible.

This includes completing a 100m-long access track across farmland from the A41, which will be used to bring in 20,000 tonnes of aggregate needed to rebuild the canal's embankment.

Construction is likely to start this spring once in-depth ground investigation works are complete as part of due diligence to confirm the design of the embankment rebuild.

It was expected the full investigation would be completed and published in the coming months, the trust said.

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