I remember the 1971 breach. We lived at Oldfield Brow. My friends and I help in catching the fish that were between the two parts of the dams that were build to stop the water flow. We used to swim in the canal and one bad winter we skated from the Bay Molton bridge to Park Avenue Timperley where we were refreshed with tea and sandwiches by my granny for the return trip to Oldfield Brow.
@Wickedacorn about 15 or so years back, the Bridgewater Canal froze around timperley it was over a foot thick in places. I was only around 10 years old and picked up a large stone and threw it as hard as I could at the ice, the stone split into 4 large chunks and the ice didn't even crack
Back in the late 70's and early 80's a friend and used roam the canal from Park Rd Timperley and the way down past Dunham. It froze over at various times and I'd gingerly walk near the edge. I would never dream of swimming in it, it was filthy.
Thank you so much for making this video. I live at Oldfield Brow and walk on its bank often. I'm also involved a bit with Friends of the Bridgewater Canal (Sale). I will do my very best to share a link to this video and hope we can make it go viral and somehow, from somewhere, raise the money needed to get it properly repaired. This canal is a national treasure, and if our society can find the money for the likes of RHS Bridgewater then it can surely find the money to fix its similarly named and more historically important canal.
@thetessellater9163 Totally agree and I don't think I've said anywhere that public money should be used. Taxes certainly should not be used. HOWEVER, the 'should' word always makes me twitch. And if, because dirty dodgers were delaying things, and if someone started a fund we could contribute to, then I would despite my modest pension income, put a small contribution into it. Because I love the canal despite its owner and not because of it.
What a fantastic video! I love North West history. One of my great grandmothers descended from a family that was Lord Egerton's (of Tatton Park) 'right-hand men'. Running major farms and estates for them like Hough End Hall and Baguley Hall. One of these ancestors was a surveyor for the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal and died during the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway out in Canada, caught by rocks during a controlled demolition. I even have the letter somewhere informing the family of their loss.
The Canal and River Trust manage most of the other canals in England and Wales and their holdings include 2707 listed buildings, 50 scheduled monuments, 304 conservation areas, 7 historic parks and gardens, 6 historic battlefields and 4 World Heritage Sites. Perhaps if the Bridgewater Canal were created a Listed Monument for preservation, then Peel Holdings would be required to fix this.
Since the canal has flooded a local sewage works and people's houses, it should be the local council who have a hand in repairing it because the breach is due to flooding caused by rainfall so in fact it's nothing to do with any particular trust since increased urbanisation also increases flood risk. Any changes to the landscape for several miles around could have impacted the canal.
Peel Holdings have demonstrated a complete lack of stewardship towards an important piece of industrial heritage, a disregard for the welfare of adjacent communities and contempt for the safety of those living on the canal itself. They should be forced by the government to sell to or donate to the Canal and Rivers Trust or similar charity/org.
I don't see any reason why narrow boats can't transport shipping containers by canal, or wide boats, so I see no reason at all why shipping containers should be bad for canals. Though trucks and trains were outcompeting canals long before the invention of shipping containers. Big barges move shipping containers up and down the Mississippi River all the time.
The canal has collapsed over quite a distance and will cost multi millions to repair it. There are many people who live in their narrow boats now stranded and unable to operate their diesel engines because of a lack of water. Their boats are high and dry so they are unable to operate their heating systems and are rely of the goodwill of people loaning them generators for basic living needs. Likewise they need portaable toilets to use because they are unable to use the toilets on their boats. For those people life at the present time is very unpleasant.
I can't picture Peel wanting to put money into something that they only want to take money out of. The schemes that they have closed down, and their hostile attitude towards heritage, both suggest that this is soon to be a cycle path at best.
Agreed, plus, they are about to loose a lot of money from it for reparations and environmental damage. Is there environmental damage? Only way to find out is to pay for a study. Then pay for the damage.
If this is true then they should be divested of their 'interest' in heritage. Should not be a problem as this asset may well be worth transferring for a penny or two to be taken on by the power of community. There are many examples today of what can be achieved by determination and enthusiasm.
Are you following 'Taylors aboard a narrow boat' on YT? They are putting up some excellent drone footage of the breach, as their boat is marooned in the southern drained section of the canal. Vince C
@@thepubliceyerude ! , don't dig out other people's way of living unless you are perfect yourself, he could have a disability that isn't obvious. Either way it's not your business. If you don't have anything positive to say leave it alone . It's their life and they aren't asking you to fund it plenty of people are making a living doing worse things .
As soon as i saw the news about the breach your stop plank video popped into my head, and my memories of walking/riding past the one in sale and on my walks down to dunham in my youth
Regarding the rusty winch you show at Sale, at Back Lane from NY Day onwards they performed the stopping up operation with two tractors atop the road bridge, each dangled it's rope to keep the stop plank balanced, so I assume this method is their current thinking, although it caused a traffic jam. But, the operation failed anyhow because the boards leaked, some were too rotten and they dropped one in the canal. They since blocked the canal with spoil, and tarpaulin.
The 1971 breach was near the present one, but not in the same place. It was nearer the Bollin aqueduct. In fact you can see the repaired section on pictures of the present breach. It was repaired in 1971 using steel piling and the bent and twisted remains of that piling can be seen on the Manchester side of the present breach like the ribs of some giant creature, where the fast flowing water escaping through the breach has carved away the canal bank as it cut back into it towards Manchester, exposing the 1971 repair. Sadly this may be the end of the Bridgewater canal as (as you point out) it is no longer a commercial waterway paying its way and the cost of repair will be never be met by income from leisure boaters. So there is no business case to repair it. Whether a repair can be justified on the grounds of restoring an industrial relic and leisure facility looks doubtful in today's Britain where everyone is having to tighten their belts. Vince C
@@Wickedacorn What bridges are falling down? If they are bridges where the road goes under or over the canal and Peel owns them, I guess they have a legal responsibility to maintain them. If you look at the appalling state of the infrastructure on the Ship Canal, or those stop plank cranes you pointed out, Peel are not in a hurry to spend any money at all of canal assets. Vince C
@@Wickedacorn Facts rather than hyperbole, surely? British Rail closed two railway lines that cross the ship canal on high level bridges (Latchford & Partington) because those bridges were in poor repair and it was deemed too expensive to put them right. The bridges and their associated inclines and resultant rail diversions were built by the Ship Canal Company as the railways were there before the canal was built. So if the canal had not been built, the bridges would not have been necessary and those railways might still be open. So who should have paid for the repair to the bridges, British Rail or the Ship Canal Company (don't know if that was Peel by then)? Vince C
The Japanese would have repaired it by now and have some deluxe advanced aqua-duct planned for August 2025 with a computerised sluice gate and a drainage channel to pre t flooding for the next 500 years. The U.K. will just argue about it for a decade.
Yes they would have got a million prisoners there and made them fix it in return for their lives. Amazing what you can achieve when you don’t care about the cost of human life.
The Peel Group will have had no problem in collecting the mooring fees and annual licence for the last 200 or so years. The fact that very little maintenance appears to have been done is a testament to capitalism
The fault of capitalism is shareholder capitalism There can't be a free market and purchasing power when oligarchs can coast on shareholder funds for years at a time There would be a lot less international conglomerates and monopolies if companies had to work for every single penny and cent
I feel very sad for the canal and those who love it, and I do hope repairs are done and steps are taken to manage the future maintenance. The sad truth is this is an affliction across the Western world, we've allowed our infrastructure to fall apart and only when it has failed is anything done. And what is usually done comes at such a cost that the general public no longer has the access they once had, priced out of range for most of us. If they can line the banks with pricey condos and elite shopping markets you can bet it'll be fixed.
Yes I have been saying this over and over since this event happened. And it is not only the infrastructure, but the social structure. I commented a lot by how incompetent were those mounting those planks. It took them a week to stop the water. It should have taken them an hour. Or at most a day in the worst of situations. In the end was just moving a truckfull or two of dirt with an excavator. ONE WEEK TO GET TO THIS SOLUTION???? And maintaining the cranes. It would have took so little. An old geezer from his pension could have maintained the two needed in this situation. All you need is a steel brush, a bucket of grease, and eventually some paint at few years. And few days of easy work. The plank themselves would have costed a little more to replace regularly. But making them of concrete would have been much cheaper on long term. And it was no need for Peel to do that, but those living on the canal. It was breached once. It is climate change, it is a lot of rain. Somebody should have thought that this will happen. Also, there are heritage organizations which collect money specially for this. Where are the funds collected? But this is society today, some pay some taxes, some collect those taxes, and all they care is to siphon as much from those taxes and do as less work possible. And those paying taxes just expect to be served with premium services for the peanuts they pay. It their interests to be involved but they do not care. Society is divided.
Thanks for the history lesson. I've been watching the Taylor's channel. Just happened to see the 1st 1 when the break happened. The danger thing you mentioned, there is 1 vid with his drone & a guy just stepping over a painted line & a good chunk of land fell off, he stopped. Your a bit easier to understand, you almost sound American but I could hear a slight accent. So I checked you out. Canadian! I live in the only state that has no accent, Wyoming! Take Care, John & Amy(woof)
Thank you for such an impassioned plea. We have lots of industrial heritage, and it is important to preserve as much as possible...but not all. We have my favourite, preserved railways, and we probably have as many as we need. As for the canals, we definitely have too many, and I say that as someone who is a professional (ie.paid and qualified) boat skipper. The main issue is that the canals were designed for non-motorised transport, in the days when virtually every boat was a money earner. In modern times, the boats hardly pay for the water they sit in, and yet even the slowest of motor craft damage a canal not built for them. CRT and Peel are expected to look after these relics. CRT do not have the resources, and their poor and scandalous management is clear for all to see. I do not pretend to have the solution, but we cannot save all and every canal currently in water. Personally I hope this breech is fixed, and the popular Cheshire Ring reconnected, but in the real world other canals have to be sacrificed, if they are not being exploited. Do we need a little used Huddersfield Narrow or Rochdale Canal opened for their full length? I am no fan of Peel, but they are not a charity, and why should they be in the unprofitable business of canal preservation? CTR needs to lose its laughable charity status, and be restructured with people who with a passion and skills the current set of managers do not have. Preserved Railways in the past 6o years have largely been a heritage success, the canals are an exact polar opposite of that, and it is high time for a reality check.
The 1971 breach happened when the aqueduct that takes the canal over the River Bollin collapsed. You can/could see a lot of the modern engineering that went in to the repair all the way from the road bridge by the park entrance to the point of the main breach. I have a feeling (no actual knowledge) that water was getting in between the new pilings along the edge of the canal and the tow path where gaps were clearly visible and thus weakening and undermining the embankment.
My guess is that they’ll shut off both ends of the canal before the breach and it’ll finish up as a western spur and eastern spur of the Bridgewater linked up to other canals at either end.
I grew up in Boothstown, a mile from Worsley where all this started, so the Bridgewater Canal has always been a huge part of my life. So sad to see what has happened over the past 30 or so years.
This is insane, this is heritage, this is residences, it's a tourist attraction, It's Britain's history. There is no way this should be allowed to not be repaired.
There’s plenty of income for the repairs and maintenance but of course resources are creamed off by greedy investors. Wether it’s the bwb or crt the money goes away from the canal system into the bottomless pockets of the faceless.
The narrow section that runs over the Bollin is the site of the 1971 breach. The wider section where it has breached now was untouched by the previous breach. There does appear to be a culvert and brook running alongside the canal on the Northern side. This in combination with the Bollin bursting its banks probably led to liquefaction of the embankment.
Good point about the Barton aqueduct winches (and their stop planks) being maintained properly......these are in regular use, albeit on average once a day because so few ships come through.
Another example of the controlled decline of this country. Not just happening here but all over the world. I wonder how many people subconsciously will put this down to “Climate Change” 🤔. Not everything is as it appears. A lot of free thinking people affected by this. People that don’t necessarily want to live a conventional life and live on a boat. Also, farmland that has been destroyed. I wish the very best to all those effected by this ❤
@@nickbumble2240 I find facts very boring in this modern world but I do love opinions. In my opinion, people would deem a fact by a google search which would then direct you to somewhere like “Snopes” (please forgive the quotes. Even worse, people would get their facts from mainstream media, but this is just my opinion. I’m sure you’ll give me yours 😁
They can’t fill it in, the Bridgewater Canal is recognized for its historical significance and is protected as a Scheduled Monument.  Additionally, several structures associated with the canal are designated as listed buildings. For example, the Barton Swing Aqueduct, which carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal, is a Grade II* listed building.  Other related structures, such as aqueducts and bridges along the canal, are also listed, reflecting their importance in the industrial heritage of the United Kingdom. These designations are there to preserve the canal and its associated structures for future generations. Peel Holdings have a legal responsibility to fix it.
A graded listing does not protect anything completely. It just means the building or structure has important historical merit, "warranting every effort to preserve it". If it is beyond economic repair using similar rebuild techniques to preserve the characteristics then it can be delisted. There are many caveats to this I'm sure, one being, does the same apply to a canal? It should be preserved as it's an asset, but those who don't understand or believe that the canal system is an antiquated folly, taking up valuable development space, want them removed from the landscape. In an age when mindfulness and mental wellbeing is the topic of the moment, canals provide a lot of people with the means to relax, whether on or off the water. I would imagine most, if not all of those who want the canals filled in, have never been on a narrow boat. For me personally, I think golf courses need to be removed and housing built on them instead!
Much appreciation for this, I think the canals are in our DNA memory bank? Almost everyone local to this Bridgewater stretch has happy memories of family walks, feeding the ducks, cycle paths, fishing etc.. Agree wholeheartedly with your views and its a bit worrying, especially after many volunteer groups have worked so hard, both in lobbying and physically, to connect and clear so much. I wonder how the narrowboat Hire Companies are feeling about it all? Holidays are certainly more popular than they were a few years ago & the freedom to roam a little for a week or so would be seriously curtailed should this breach not be repaired? Its our History and Heritage. (with a capital H).. Would the canal and River Trust be interested I wonder? Strange how they own most of the waterways but Traffords stretch belongs to Peel? Hopefully as word spreads, Peel might act. I have been following the Walker Family and feel heartily sorry for them. Peel have been attentive for now, but I suspect only because there has been publicity. Thank you very very much for the history and attention to details in the post. You're a superstar.
I can't see Peel not repairing it. I moor at Anderton, Northwich. To get to Manchester without the Bridgewater means going down Heartbreak to Kidsgrove, up the Macc and into Manchester from the East, it's a long way round.
I was brought up in Sale near Dane Road station and used to fish on the canal and go for walks etc. Spent a lot of time there. Very shocked to see what has happened.
Hey from across the pond always like to watch it's a shame what happened I hope they fix it soon it's a part of the history of the area and over here we have designated historical routes that must be preserved so maybe they could do the same over there anyway hopefully everything works out
Peel holdings have a past record with many of their other investment properties, airports and large buildings. Little to zero investment for decades until they fail and they sell land off for development. This canal will never be repaired trust me. Not so long as they own it. Repairs to the breach alone will be tens of millions… then as in checking and repairing/replacing the rest of the canal to t is uneconomical, and the company will not have the funds to do it, even if they wanted too. Sad to say but this canal is finished.
If you do a comparison of where the breach is and google maps you can see it failed where a stream flowed under the canal. This was probably a failing due to the flooding on the upstream side overwhelming the curlvert. They did works on timperley brook under the canal back in the 80s where the canal was coffered, a larger culvert installed and also the banks of timperley brook were built up on navi rec. Not long after we had a winter where there was sufficient rain to flood the field next to the canal and then it all froze. Everyone would be on the canal and field ice skating. We are seeing more extreme weather and water volumes, this is not the last time there will be issues when you look at the lack of maintenance, people in their office resting on their laurels
How can you say that Peel is making little to no money off the canal when they charge boaters to use it while not maintaining it? EVERY pound they receive from the boaters is 100% profit!
Repairing that will be a massive job, not just the breach to repair, but all of the banks that have subsided into the empty canal, plus hundreds of metres of the clay lining that's been washed away. I feel sorry for the people on the house boats that are now high and dry - not going anywhere for a long time.
I wonder if Peel holdings who also own Trafford center will be insured for the damage to the near by property,s and the canal but if the canal has been poorly maintained the insurance as insurance company goes they might dispute the claim.
I would say that the availability of modern machinery would allow those ancient Stop Plank Cranes to enjoy their retirement. Maintenance for any other purpose than historical preservation would not be money well spent. Modern maintained equipment could be brought in as needed vs setting out in the elements until needed once every 100 years.
This is probably the end for this section of the canal. I think they will just block it off to stop the two sections from fully draining. Hopefully they will do it where the boats can be refloated and put on a navigable section.
All canals in England are an engineering marvel of the time. They are something I as a yank would hope would be maintained properly. Free enterprise without regulation is why it's in the state it is. I would hope it's fixed properly and maintained. As a national defense necessity. I wish America had more of them.
It only took one year to build the original canal back in 1761. Its 2025 AD now. If this was in Japan it would definitely be up and running again by the end of February.
well with modern technology they should be able to build it stronger they could use steel casings or concrete, , whatever they use it will be years before anyone is using it
The stoplock condition is pretty poor.. but not unsurprising when the last breach was over half a century ago. Anyhow John Whitaker is getting on in age.. maybe fixing the canal could be a positive legacy
If you look on Google Maps there is a ditch/stream going away from the canal exactly where the breach occurred. Almost certainly connected to a weir or sluice on the canal. That makes me suspect that was the weak point the water exploited to start the breach.
Peel holdings wanted the land surrounding both banks of the canal - the canal is just "collateral" that doesn't mean anything to them. Peel get more ££££ from kings dock than the Bridgewater canal
One year of restoration? The last time it happened in 1971 it took over 2years and cost £250000,or in today approx £3,500,000. However, Peel did not own it,the Bridgewater Canal Co had government assistance to help with costs. I have a bad feeling Peel will think about closing it down due to cost, which will be astronomical. I hope I'm wrong wrong.
It has had major works over many years, I have personally supervised works there including new stop planks at each end of the subsidence affected section, do your research before making sweeping statements, the stop planks I installed were steel, FYI I was BWB's dedicated engineer to Peel Holdings back in the day. Check your sources please.
Under English Law, any landowner that allows something to escape from their land, in this case water, is responsible for all the damage that flows from that escape. Pardon the pun. Its called vicarious liability, and given Peel Holdings have several billion pounds in assets and make several hundred millions of pounds each year, there should be no problem for compensation. Whether and how they long they take to fix this is another matter.
What I can see is that the attempts to block off the canal breach has been very hit and miss. It should be mandatory to implement contingency plans for such incidents and look to the past for examples of how to engineer this
same along the leeds and liverpool ....canal and river trust are more bothered about taking money than repairing anything its embarrassing ... too think the people who made them cranes wont be alive now and no one can be bothered to keep that history and heritage alive ..... but when they build a new bar or restaurant they give the abandoned piece of machinery a lick of paint and name the venue after it to display the artifact so they can get local funding and say they are saving history .... see it everywhere
The collapse appears to have happened at a place where a small brook goes under the canal; I suspect that culvert failed, maybe some time ago, and the excessive rain speeded its failure
This section of the canal was never built or repaired properly. No insult to the repair they did the best they could. Most thought it would never happen at the time. Gonna take a lot of dough to fix it. And I wonder about liability for all the water that flowed out and what damage it has done there.
Needs to go under the curatorship of the crt. Cant see it happening because as you say the land is worth more drained and filled in. I personally cant see peel doing anything to fix this at all 😢 its not financially viable for them. However the more publicity, public awareness and outrage there is might just sway them but im not holding my breath 😢
I had wondered that too. As a boater myself I find this absolutely heartbreaking. Having sailed from London to The Peak Forest Canal, we came across COUNTLESS examples of The CRT's failure to dredge canals, repair banks & towpaths and mend leaky locks. It's a travesty.
That is economically inviable at a cost of nearly £1M per boat because of the size of crane that would be needed to do the job. Plus the ground works that would need to be put in several places along the canal for the crane to stand on. A near on impossible task to undertake. The insurance company will insist that the failure is due to a severe lack of maintenance by peel holdings as they have a bad reputation for maintaining their properties. This they will not pay out on any claim. The best that will happen in about 3-4yrs time is that both ends ot the breach will be sealed so as the boats can make their own way off of the section. It will then be left to self deteriorate for the next 15-20yrs whilst peel holdings just sit back and watch the price of the land increase as they do nothing, by then surrounding development will have progressed to a point where the land will be sold off for development at a massive profit to peel holdings and a total loss to historic heritage. That's socialist capitalism for you.
@@carolynbasham9749 Peel holdings is not part of the CRT. They have a lot less money and only hold the canal lands to sell on at a later date. They have done no maintenance for years so cannot see them starting now. This canal is done for now.
I think the best that can be expected is permanent dams at the most suitable points either side of the breach. Any boats caught in no mans land will have to be scrapped. Any potential repair is a logistical and financial nightmare. Sadly just cant see it happening . The breach and remaining embankment will be bulldozed , flattened and returned to agricultural space.
Sadly Peel has a history of walking away or shutting it down, Sheffield Airport, Robin Hood Airport, (RAF Finningley.) The latter to be reopened after the Council and South Yorkshire mayor promised investment.
If they can't maintain it, then drain it and shut it down. If they refuse to maintain it then seize their personal property to do and pay for the work. Plus set a date for completion with penalties if it isn't done.
I remember the 1971 breach. We lived at Oldfield Brow. My friends and I help in catching the fish that were between the two parts of the dams that were build to stop the water flow. We used to swim in the canal and one bad winter we skated from the Bay Molton bridge to Park Avenue Timperley where we were refreshed with tea and sandwiches by my granny for the return trip to Oldfield Brow.
I don't ever want to see it frozen over. But that sure sounds like fun.
@Wickedacorn about 15 or so years back, the Bridgewater Canal froze around timperley it was over a foot thick in places. I was only around 10 years old and picked up a large stone and threw it as hard as I could at the ice, the stone split into 4 large chunks and the ice didn't even crack
Back in the late 70's and early 80's a friend and used roam the canal from Park Rd Timperley and the way down past Dunham. It froze over at various times and I'd gingerly walk near the edge. I would never dream of swimming in it, it was filthy.
Thank you so much for making this video. I live at Oldfield Brow and walk on its bank often. I'm also involved a bit with Friends of the Bridgewater Canal (Sale). I will do my very best to share a link to this video and hope we can make it go viral and somehow, from somewhere, raise the money needed to get it properly repaired. This canal is a national treasure, and if our society can find the money for the likes of RHS Bridgewater then it can surely find the money to fix its similarly named and more historically important canal.
No public money should be used to fix this, it is private land owned by a very large company, so none of our taxes should be used.
@thetessellater9163 Totally agree and I don't think I've said anywhere that public money should be used. Taxes certainly should not be used. HOWEVER, the 'should' word always makes me twitch. And if, because dirty dodgers were delaying things, and if someone started a fund we could contribute to, then I would despite my modest pension income, put a small contribution into it. Because I love the canal despite its owner and not because of it.
What a fantastic video! I love North West history. One of my great grandmothers descended from a family that was Lord Egerton's (of Tatton Park) 'right-hand men'. Running major farms and estates for them like Hough End Hall and Baguley Hall. One of these ancestors was a surveyor for the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal and died during the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway out in Canada, caught by rocks during a controlled demolition. I even have the letter somewhere informing the family of their loss.
The Canal and River Trust manage most of the other canals in England and Wales and their holdings include 2707 listed buildings, 50 scheduled monuments, 304 conservation areas, 7 historic parks and gardens, 6 historic battlefields and 4 World Heritage Sites. Perhaps if the Bridgewater Canal were created a Listed Monument for preservation, then Peel Holdings would be required to fix this.
Since the canal has flooded a local sewage works and people's houses, it should be the local council who have a hand in repairing it because the breach is due to flooding caused by rainfall so in fact it's nothing to do with any particular trust since increased urbanisation also increases flood risk. Any changes to the landscape for several miles around could have impacted the canal.
The canal and river trust don’t own the Bridgewater canal it’s owned and ran by the bridgewater canal company limited
Peel Holdings have demonstrated a complete lack of stewardship towards an important piece of industrial heritage, a disregard for the welfare of adjacent communities and contempt for the safety of those living on the canal itself. They should be forced by the government to sell to or donate to the Canal and Rivers Trust or similar charity/org.
Seems to be wilfully neglected
Government to composary
I don't see any reason why narrow boats can't transport shipping containers by canal, or wide boats, so I see no reason at all why shipping containers should be bad for canals. Though trucks and trains were outcompeting canals long before the invention of shipping containers. Big barges move shipping containers up and down the Mississippi River all the time.
He makes a valid point at the end that the land might be better used to house the homeless instead of repairing the canal.
@@alan6832 people live on the canals. The government make people homeless. We should sort that out, really.
The canal has collapsed over quite a distance and will cost multi millions to repair it. There are many people who live in their narrow boats now stranded and unable to operate their diesel engines because of a lack of water. Their boats are high and dry so they are unable to operate their heating systems and are rely of the goodwill of people loaning them generators for basic living needs. Likewise they need portaable toilets to use because they are unable to use the toilets on their boats. For those people life at the present time is very unpleasant.
I can't picture Peel wanting to put money into something that they only want to take money out of. The schemes that they have closed down, and their hostile attitude towards heritage, both suggest that this is soon to be a cycle path at best.
Agreed, plus, they are about to loose a lot of money from it for reparations and environmental damage. Is there environmental damage? Only way to find out is to pay for a study. Then pay for the damage.
If this is true then they should be divested of their 'interest' in heritage. Should not be a problem as this asset may well be worth transferring for a penny or two to be taken on by the power of community. There are many examples today of what can be achieved by determination and enthusiasm.
@@richard_wenner 100% agree. Same for land in general. Soon we will be renting all farm land from pension companies :(
So the directors of the Peel Group, they will still pick up their bonus's this year then?
Great video as ever! Can't wait for the one on navvies!
Are you following 'Taylors aboard a narrow boat' on YT? They are putting up some excellent drone footage of the breach, as their boat is marooned in the southern drained section of the canal.
Vince C
The Taylors with their 35-year-old child living with them.
@@thepubliceye
So what ?
Are you jealous?
Who cares about the Taylors?
@@01menyou It's because of them it's in the news!
@@thepubliceyerude ! , don't dig out other people's way of living unless you are perfect yourself, he could have a disability that isn't obvious. Either way it's not your business. If you don't have anything positive to say leave it alone . It's their life and they aren't asking you to fund it plenty of people are making a living doing worse things .
So sad. Hope it gets repaired. It's historic and should be preserved.
As soon as i saw the news about the breach your stop plank video popped into my head, and my memories of walking/riding past the one in sale and on my walks down to dunham in my youth
my childhood playground , so many great memories! i hope things get fixed for the good of all
Regarding the rusty winch you show at Sale, at Back Lane from NY Day onwards they performed the stopping up operation with two tractors atop the road bridge, each dangled it's rope to keep the stop plank balanced, so I assume this method is their current thinking, although it caused a traffic jam. But, the operation failed anyhow because the boards leaked, some were too rotten and they dropped one in the canal. They since blocked the canal with spoil, and tarpaulin.
The 1971 breach was near the present one, but not in the same place. It was nearer the Bollin aqueduct. In fact you can see the repaired section on pictures of the present breach. It was repaired in 1971 using steel piling and the bent and twisted remains of that piling can be seen on the Manchester side of the present breach like the ribs of some giant creature, where the fast flowing water escaping through the breach has carved away the canal bank as it cut back into it towards Manchester, exposing the 1971 repair.
Sadly this may be the end of the Bridgewater canal as (as you point out) it is no longer a commercial waterway paying its way and the cost of repair will be never be met by income from leisure boaters. So there is no business case to repair it.
Whether a repair can be justified on the grounds of restoring an industrial relic and leisure facility looks doubtful in today's Britain where everyone is having to tighten their belts.
Vince C
Which do you think Peel will fix first the falling down bridges or the canal?
@@Wickedacorn What bridges are falling down?
If they are bridges where the road goes under or over the canal and Peel owns them, I guess they have a legal responsibility to maintain them.
If you look at the appalling state of the infrastructure on the Ship Canal, or those stop plank cranes you pointed out, Peel are not in a hurry to spend any money at all of canal assets.
Vince C
Hyperbole. All the bridges that cross the ship canal are in need of better maintenance.
@@Wickedacorn Facts rather than hyperbole, surely?
British Rail closed two railway lines that cross the ship canal on high level bridges (Latchford & Partington) because those bridges were in poor repair and it was deemed too expensive to put them right.
The bridges and their associated inclines and resultant rail diversions were built by the Ship Canal Company as the railways were there before the canal was built. So if the canal had not been built, the bridges would not have been necessary and those railways might still be open.
So who should have paid for the repair to the bridges, British Rail or the Ship Canal Company (don't know if that was Peel by then)?
Vince C
@@gzk6nk Exactly. I was saying I was being hyperbolic by saying they are falling down.
A few years ago this would probably have been qualified for a repair payed by the eu heritage fund.
Yep!!! exactly
@KazOgonHolmes "But we do have Blue Passports!" 🙄🙄🤦♀🤦♀😠😠
Im sure the weather was better when we were in the EU😅
It could be paid for out of the contributions we no loner have to pay. Britain was a net contributor to the EU.
😂😂😂😂🎉@@motuekarewaka5145
The Japanese would have repaired it by now and have some deluxe advanced aqua-duct planned for August 2025 with a computerised sluice gate and a drainage channel to pre t flooding for the next 500 years. The U.K. will just argue about it for a decade.
Yes they would have got a million prisoners there and made them fix it in return for their lives. Amazing what you can achieve when you don’t care about the cost of human life.
So you have made your money from making a dangerous video but you have the nerve to tell others not to do it 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
We're not in Japan.
The Brits seem to be becoming the laughing stock of the world at this point. From first world to third world. So unironically sad.
Why on earth would the Japanese repair a UK canal? What kind of drugs are you taking?
In The Netherlands stop planks usually have their own dedicated canopy, little roof or other storage space, to shield them from the elements.
In many places on other parts of the canal network, people stole the planks. This is Britain.
The Peel Group will have had no problem in collecting the mooring fees and annual licence for the last 200 or so years. The fact that very little maintenance appears to have been done is a testament to capitalism
The fault of capitalism is shareholder capitalism
There can't be a free market and purchasing power when oligarchs can coast on shareholder funds for years at a time
There would be a lot less international conglomerates and monopolies if companies had to work for every single penny and cent
Peel will do what they always do - they will just walk away and leave the mess.
Peel have only owned the canal since they bought the Manchester Ship Canal Company.
Tales from the blah side Peel acquired the ship canal in 1987 and purchased it fully in 1993. Therefore they've controlled it for 37 years
And likely paid insurance on so time for a claim.
I feel very sad for the canal and those who love it, and I do hope repairs are done and steps are taken to manage the future maintenance. The sad truth is this is an affliction across the Western world, we've allowed our infrastructure to fall apart and only when it has failed is anything done. And what is usually done comes at such a cost that the general public no longer has the access they once had, priced out of range for most of us. If they can line the banks with pricey condos and elite shopping markets you can bet it'll be fixed.
Yes I have been saying this over and over since this event happened.
And it is not only the infrastructure, but the social structure.
I commented a lot by how incompetent were those mounting those planks.
It took them a week to stop the water. It should have taken them an hour.
Or at most a day in the worst of situations.
In the end was just moving a truckfull or two of dirt with an excavator.
ONE WEEK TO GET TO THIS SOLUTION????
And maintaining the cranes. It would have took so little.
An old geezer from his pension could have maintained the two needed in this situation.
All you need is a steel brush, a bucket of grease, and eventually some paint at few years.
And few days of easy work.
The plank themselves would have costed a little more to replace regularly. But making them of concrete would have been much cheaper on long term.
And it was no need for Peel to do that, but those living on the canal.
It was breached once. It is climate change, it is a lot of rain.
Somebody should have thought that this will happen.
Also, there are heritage organizations which collect money specially for this.
Where are the funds collected?
But this is society today, some pay some taxes, some collect those taxes, and all they care is to siphon as much from those taxes and do as less work possible.
And those paying taxes just expect to be served with premium services for the peanuts they pay. It their interests to be involved but they do not care.
Society is divided.
Thanks for the history lesson. I've been watching the Taylor's channel. Just happened to see the 1st 1 when the break happened. The danger thing you mentioned, there is 1 vid with his drone & a guy just stepping over a painted line & a good chunk of land fell off, he stopped. Your a bit easier to understand, you almost sound American but I could hear a slight accent. So I checked you out. Canadian! I live in the only state that has no accent, Wyoming! Take Care, John & Amy(woof)
Thank you for such an impassioned plea. We have lots of industrial heritage, and it is important to preserve as much as possible...but not all. We have my favourite, preserved railways, and we probably have as many as we need. As for the canals, we definitely have too many, and I say that as someone who is a professional (ie.paid and qualified) boat skipper. The main issue is that the canals were designed for non-motorised transport, in the days when virtually every boat was a money earner. In modern times, the boats hardly pay for the water they sit in, and yet even the slowest of motor craft damage a canal not built for them. CRT and Peel are expected to look after these relics. CRT do not have the resources, and their poor and scandalous management is clear for all to see. I do not pretend to have the solution, but we cannot save all and every canal currently in water. Personally I hope this breech is fixed, and the popular Cheshire Ring reconnected, but in the real world other canals have to be sacrificed, if they are not being exploited. Do we need a little used Huddersfield Narrow or Rochdale Canal opened for their full length? I am no fan of Peel, but they are not a charity, and why should they be in the unprofitable business of canal preservation? CTR needs to lose its laughable charity status, and be restructured with people who with a passion and skills the current set of managers do not have. Preserved Railways in the past 6o years have largely been a heritage success, the canals are an exact polar opposite of that, and it is high time for a reality check.
Thanks for one of the few sensible comments here.
@@adrianwright8685 you are welcome, I am passionate but not sentimental.
Great vid. Thanks
The 1971 breach happened when the aqueduct that takes the canal over the River Bollin collapsed. You can/could see a lot of the modern engineering that went in to the repair all the way from the road bridge by the park entrance to the point of the main breach. I have a feeling (no actual knowledge) that water was getting in between the new pilings along the edge of the canal and the tow path where gaps were clearly visible and thus weakening and undermining the embankment.
There's an interesting video on it. Look for "The biggest thing to ever hit Lymm"
My guess is that they’ll shut off both ends of the canal before the breach and it’ll finish up as a western spur and eastern spur of the Bridgewater linked up to other canals at either end.
I grew up in Boothstown, a mile from Worsley where all this started, so the Bridgewater Canal has always been a huge part of my life. So sad to see what has happened over the past 30 or so years.
Letting it fall in disrepair is the common way to get rid of a monument protection burden.
A sad but true side-effect of the 'Listing' scheme. It's cost us a lot of heritage over the past generation.
This is insane, this is heritage, this is residences, it's a tourist attraction, It's Britain's history. There is no way this should be allowed to not be repaired.
There’s plenty of income for the repairs and maintenance but of course resources are creamed off by greedy investors. Wether it’s the bwb or crt the money goes away from the canal system into the bottomless pockets of the faceless.
Peel holdings own the canal so dont hold your breath expecting a quick repair
The narrow section that runs over the Bollin is the site of the 1971 breach. The wider section where it has breached now was untouched by the previous breach. There does appear to be a culvert and brook running alongside the canal on the Northern side. This in combination with the Bollin bursting its banks probably led to liquefaction of the embankment.
Enjoyed the vid. Quick point. Industrial revolution first - then the canal!
Good point about the Barton aqueduct winches (and their stop planks) being maintained properly......these are in regular use, albeit on average once a day because so few ships come through.
spot on it will never be re built .
Another example of the controlled decline of this country. Not just happening here but all over the world.
I wonder how many people subconsciously will put this down to “Climate Change” 🤔.
Not everything is as it appears. A lot of free thinking people affected by this. People that don’t necessarily want to live a conventional life and live on a boat. Also, farmland that has been destroyed.
I wish the very best to all those effected by this ❤
Climate change in quotes. Interesting.
@ I’m glad you found it interesting. I do try and make an effort when making comments 👍
@@westcountrywanderer01 see if you can do interesting and factual together 👍
@@nickbumble2240 I find facts very boring in this modern world but I do love opinions. In my opinion, people would deem a fact by a google search which would then direct you to somewhere like “Snopes” (please forgive the quotes. Even worse, people would get their facts from mainstream media, but this is just my opinion. I’m sure you’ll give me yours 😁
@westcountrywanderer01 wow, what a juvenile reply. Debating you would be a fools errand so I think I'll leave it.
They can’t fill it in, the Bridgewater Canal is recognized for its historical significance and is protected as a Scheduled Monument.  Additionally, several structures associated with the canal are designated as listed buildings. For example, the Barton Swing Aqueduct, which carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal, is a Grade II* listed building.  Other related structures, such as aqueducts and bridges along the canal, are also listed, reflecting their importance in the industrial heritage of the United Kingdom. These designations are there to preserve the canal and its associated structures for future generations. Peel Holdings have a legal responsibility to fix it.
Only the Worsley end is a scheduled monument.
A graded listing does not protect anything completely. It just means the building or structure has important historical merit, "warranting every effort to preserve it". If it is beyond economic repair using similar rebuild techniques to preserve the characteristics then it can be delisted. There are many caveats to this I'm sure, one being, does the same apply to a canal? It should be preserved as it's an asset, but those who don't understand or believe that the canal system is an antiquated folly, taking up valuable development space, want them removed from the landscape. In an age when mindfulness and mental wellbeing is the topic of the moment, canals provide a lot of people with the means to relax, whether on or off the water. I would imagine most, if not all of those who want the canals filled in, have never been on a narrow boat. For me personally, I think golf courses need to be removed and housing built on them instead!
Much appreciation for this, I think the canals are in our DNA memory bank? Almost everyone local to this Bridgewater stretch has happy memories of family walks, feeding the ducks, cycle paths, fishing etc.. Agree wholeheartedly with your views and its a bit worrying, especially after many volunteer groups have worked so hard, both in lobbying and physically, to connect and clear so much.
I wonder how the narrowboat Hire Companies are feeling about it all? Holidays are certainly more popular than they were a few years ago & the freedom to roam a little for a week or so would be seriously curtailed should this breach not be repaired?
Its our History and Heritage. (with a capital H)..
Would the canal and River Trust be interested I wonder? Strange how they own most of the waterways but Traffords stretch belongs to Peel? Hopefully as word spreads, Peel might act. I have been following the Walker Family and feel heartily sorry for them. Peel have been attentive for now, but I suspect only because there has been publicity. Thank you very very much for the history and attention to details in the post. You're a superstar.
Thanks. It's my favourite place.
I can't see Peel not repairing it. I moor at Anderton, Northwich. To get to Manchester without the Bridgewater means going down Heartbreak to Kidsgrove, up the Macc and into Manchester from the East, it's a long way round.
I looked into the future. One day there are going to be camper vans on the motorways.
That's all canals were in the day
Now what? Watch Peel holdings drag it through the courts to avoid any financial responsibility.
I was brought up in Sale near Dane Road station and used to fish on the canal and go for walks etc. Spent a lot of time there. Very shocked to see what has happened.
Hey from across the pond always like to watch it's a shame what happened I hope they fix it soon it's a part of the history of the area and over here we have designated historical routes that must be preserved so maybe they could do the same over there anyway hopefully everything works out
Peel holdings have a past record with many of their other investment properties, airports and large buildings. Little to zero investment for decades until they fail and they sell land off for development.
This canal will never be repaired trust me.
Not so long as they own it.
Repairs to the breach alone will be tens of millions… then as in checking and repairing/replacing the rest of the canal to t is uneconomical, and the company will not have the funds to do it, even if they wanted too.
Sad to say but this canal is finished.
If you do a comparison of where the breach is and google maps you can see it failed where a stream flowed under the canal. This was probably a failing due to the flooding on the upstream side overwhelming the curlvert. They did works on timperley brook under the canal back in the 80s where the canal was coffered, a larger culvert installed and also the banks of timperley brook were built up on navi rec. Not long after we had a winter where there was sufficient rain to flood the field next to the canal and then it all froze. Everyone would be on the canal and field ice skating. We are seeing more extreme weather and water volumes, this is not the last time there will be issues when you look at the lack of maintenance, people in their office resting on their laurels
Typical of Peel holdings,
buy everything up and leave it to rot ,
just like the bridge at Stockton Heath , more rust than good steel,
It's called ASSET-STRIPPING!
I don't see the canal being repaired and you'll be waiting a long time to see those cranes properly repaired and painted.
So you are the one that was standing beyond the police cordon just to get a look?
zzzzz
How can you say that Peel is making little to no money off the canal when they charge boaters to use it while not maintaining it? EVERY pound they receive from the boaters is 100% profit!
Repairing that will be a massive job, not just the breach to repair, but all of the banks that have subsided into the empty canal, plus hundreds of metres of the clay lining that's been washed away. I feel sorry for the people on the house boats that are now high and dry - not going anywhere for a long time.
I wonder if Peel holdings who also own Trafford center will be insured for the damage to the near by property,s and the canal but if the canal has been poorly maintained the insurance as insurance company goes they might dispute the claim.
They dont own the Trafford center they sold it on couple of years back
Great informative video thank you. the little Acorn mascot should be named Oakie jnr
I would say that the availability of modern machinery would allow those ancient Stop Plank Cranes to enjoy their retirement. Maintenance for any other purpose than historical preservation would not be money well spent. Modern maintained equipment could be brought in as needed vs setting out in the elements until needed once every 100 years.
what machinery do you have in mind that can negotiate narrow tow paths a coat of paint & oil /grease costs little
This is probably the end for this section of the canal. I think they will just block it off to stop the two sections from fully draining. Hopefully they will do it where the boats can be refloated and put on a navigable section.
All canals in England are an engineering marvel of the time. They are something I as a yank would hope would be maintained properly. Free enterprise without regulation is why it's in the state it is. I would hope it's fixed properly and maintained. As a national defense necessity. I wish America had more of them.
It only took one year to build the original canal back in 1761. Its 2025 AD now. If this was in Japan it would definitely be up and running again by the end of February.
well with modern technology they should be able to build it stronger they could use steel casings or concrete, , whatever they use it will be years before anyone is using it
Peel will not repair it. They have a past record of letting properties fall into disrepair and sell the land.
Peel Group will now fill it up and build on it for profit
In the K&A part of the country those timbers that form dams are called 'stank boards' and they fit into 'stank grooves'.
Why is our heritage being allowed to rot like this . Disgusting !!
"I'm not going to give you the whole history of the Bridgewater Canal".... Proceeds to give you the whole history of the Bridgewater canal.
I sense he could have given a lot more
At least he cares , which is more than the “Owners do! “
@@6364AW Totally agree. This is owned by Peel and my fear is they will just fill it in, as its far cheaper for them that way.
And 500 years later it still remains to be repaired.
The stoplock condition is pretty poor.. but not unsurprising when the last breach was over half a century ago.
Anyhow John Whitaker is getting on in age.. maybe fixing the canal could be a positive legacy
If you look on Google Maps there is a ditch/stream going away from the canal exactly where the breach occurred. Almost certainly connected to a weir or sluice on the canal. That makes me suspect that was the weak point the water exploited to start the breach.
It's a Peel thing. I don't think they will repair this, not what they do..
"It was all brought in one wheelbarrow at a time" _shows picture of massive train of railway wagons bringing it in_ 🤔
Peel holdings wanted the land surrounding both banks of the canal - the canal is just "collateral" that doesn't mean anything to them. Peel get more ££££ from kings dock than the Bridgewater canal
I think the mascot should be called Wicke D (Wickie Dee) xx
Best guess 5 years of assessments and consultations. 5 years of sitting. 1 year of restoration.
Not with peel.. they simply will not repair it.
One year of restoration? The last time it happened in 1971 it took over 2years and cost £250000,or in today approx £3,500,000. However, Peel did not own it,the Bridgewater Canal Co had government assistance to help with costs. I have a bad feeling Peel will think about closing it down due to cost, which will be astronomical. I hope I'm wrong wrong.
What's the betting that Peel closes this section and charges boaters to use the MSC as a bypass.
It has had major works over many years, I have personally supervised works there including new stop planks at each end of the subsidence affected section, do your research before making sweeping statements, the stop planks I installed were steel, FYI I was BWB's dedicated engineer to Peel Holdings back in the day. Check your sources please.
Why would an IOM investment company want to spend money on what is (to them) just a muddy ditch?
A great bit of nature's way to give up past historic sites when no longer used. It will cost plenty just to fix the waterway mess alone.
Nice video. Think the embankment does cross a valley, that of the River Brolin, albeit not a large river.
Under English Law, any landowner that allows something to escape from their land, in this case water, is responsible for all the damage that flows from that escape. Pardon the pun. Its called vicarious liability, and given Peel Holdings have several billion pounds in assets and make several hundred millions of pounds each year, there should be no problem for compensation. Whether and how they long they take to fix this is another matter.
where is our transport secretary?!!!!
Two bissy sending money to eurocrats transport sector
How is this within the remit of the transport secretary? You want the public to pay for a fix of a privately owned entity??
@@nickbumble2240 Yes raise tax to pay!!!
@nickbumble2240 ❤️spot on
back in the day it was used for transport.................
People are so stupid! The embankment is still collapsing and they walk down there??
ZERO chance of it being repaired.
Are you Canadian or Irish??
What I can see is that the attempts to block off the canal breach has been very hit and miss. It should be mandatory to implement contingency plans for such incidents and look to the past for examples of how to engineer this
HI fun people notice had boat point right away did not move boat only after too later about move
same along the leeds and liverpool ....canal and river trust are more bothered about taking money than repairing anything its embarrassing ... too think the people who made them cranes wont be alive now and no one can be bothered to keep that history and heritage alive ..... but when they build a new bar or restaurant they give the abandoned piece of machinery a lick of paint and name the venue after it to display the artifact so they can get local funding and say they are saving history .... see it everywhere
Great historical value should be very much worth fixing it . Not doing so would be foolish .
Really interesting video. When writing the script did you see how many times how many times you can say Bridgewater Canal. ( just joking)
The collapse appears to have happened at a place where a small brook goes under the canal; I suspect that culvert failed, maybe some time ago, and the excessive rain speeded its failure
This section of the canal was never built or repaired properly. No insult to the repair they did the best they could. Most thought it would never happen at the time. Gonna take a lot of dough to fix it. And I wonder about liability for all the water that flowed out and what damage it has done there.
Yes, I measured 3" in 24 hrs in Sale
All planned no doubt.
Makes you wonder why you all pay for a licence
Everyone's minted out there, I'm sure Peel will have a whip round.
Needs to go under the curatorship of the crt. Cant see it happening because as you say the land is worth more drained and filled in. I personally cant see peel doing anything to fix this at all 😢 its not financially viable for them. However the more publicity, public awareness and outrage there is might just sway them but im not holding my breath 😢
Is it going to be filled in and built on. It's a forty mile stretch of housing to Peel holdings.
I’m putting my bet on that they crane out the boats and just seal it at each end
I had wondered that too. As a boater myself I find this absolutely heartbreaking. Having sailed from London to The Peak Forest Canal, we came across COUNTLESS examples of The CRT's failure to dredge canals, repair banks & towpaths and mend leaky locks. It's a travesty.
@@carolynbasham9749 Bridgewater hass nothing to do with the CRT.
That is economically inviable at a cost of nearly £1M per boat because of the size of crane that would be needed to do the job. Plus the ground works that would need to be put in several places along the canal for the crane to stand on.
A near on impossible task to undertake. The insurance company will insist that the failure is due to a severe lack of maintenance by peel holdings as they have a bad reputation for maintaining their properties. This they will not pay out on any claim. The best that will happen in about 3-4yrs time is that both ends ot the breach will be sealed so as the boats can make their own way off of the section. It will then be left to self deteriorate for the next 15-20yrs whilst peel holdings just sit back and watch the price of the land increase as they do nothing, by then surrounding development will have progressed to a point where the land will be sold off for development at a massive profit to peel holdings and a total loss to historic heritage.
That's socialist capitalism for you.
@@carolynbasham9749 Peel holdings is not part of the CRT. They have a lot less money and only hold the canal lands to sell on at a later date. They have done no maintenance for years so cannot see them starting now. This canal is done for now.
@garyc5483 That is so tragic
I've got a feeling they won't fix it as the cost is just too high
Use our prisoners and immigrants too do the repairs work it's called paying back your debt to society.
Peel Holdings take money out, not put it in! 😡
How did stop plank cranes get sold off from the trust?
Zach Dingle talking about canals who'd of thought it 😅😂😅
Regarding the breach it would easier to bridge It over the Bollin flood plan now
I think the best that can be expected is permanent dams at the most suitable points either side of the breach.
Any boats caught in no mans land will have to be scrapped.
Any potential repair is a logistical and financial nightmare.
Sadly just cant see it happening . The breach and remaining embankment will be bulldozed , flattened and returned to agricultural space.
Sadly Peel has a history of walking away or shutting it down, Sheffield Airport, Robin Hood Airport, (RAF Finningley.)
The latter to be reopened after the Council and South Yorkshire mayor promised investment.
Too much litter in the canal, good time to clean lining of the canal get some clay soil for relining .
Sad. Isn't there a body called "the Canal Trust" or British Waterways who could step in and restore it?
If they can't maintain it, then drain it and shut it down.
If they refuse to maintain it then seize their personal property to do and pay for the work.
Plus set a date for completion with penalties if it isn't done.
Hard to realise that this canal is older than the USA.