The G&S and Severn have new restrictions on the use of locks at Glos and Sharpness due to very low flows in the Severn. All water for the locks at either end of the Severn has to come from the pumping station at Glos or the natural feeders (principally the Frome and Cam). The latter two are almost static, and the pumping station doesn't have capacity to supply much more than the Bristol Water abstraction at Purton.
Martin/ From Waterscape: Restriction: Gloucester - Sharpness Associated Regional Office: South Wales & Severn Waterways UPDATE (02 July 2010): Water resources feeding the canal have dropped significantly this month. Flows from all the feeders along the canal are low and the River Severn is in Drought Regulation, being supported by releases from reservoirs in Wales. To date pumping at Gloucester has enabled us to maintain the canal at Operational levels however the current available water resource cannot sustain the canal without reducing lockages at Gloucester and Sharpness. Therefore it will be necessary to implement the following measures. Demand Management Measures: Monday 5th July. Sharpness Port: The lock will be closed to Leisure craft on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Leisure craft will be allowed to lock on the daytime tides on Wednesday, Friday and Sundays only. Please note: Subject to safety considerations and lock availability it may be possible for Leisure craft to sail with booked commercial vessels on all tides throughout the week. Customers should check the availability of these additional lockage’s with Sharpness Pier Head. Customers should note that commercial sailings are not regular and are subject to late change and update. The availability of these additional lockages may be limited. Gloucester Lock: The lock will be restricted to Leisure craft. Lockages will be taken at 8am, 10am, 12 noon, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm daily, Monday to Sunday. The Lock Keeper will look to limit the impact on customers. Where safety considerations require such as tides additional lockages may be taken. We would ask customers for patience if their journey is delayed. Commercial craft are requested wherever possible to limit the use of Gloucester Lock to the times given above. Upper Lode Lock: Boats travelling to Gloucester will be advised not to continue with their journey to Gloucester if they leave Upper Lode after 4pm. We genuinely understand the concerns customers may have with the implementation of these measures and at present it is not expected that they will need to be escalated. However should it be necessary to continue to escalate water management measures over the course of the summer British Waterways will work to ensure the best balance of measures is implemented. These measures will be reviewed on a weekly basis and will be removed as soon as practical. An update on the water resource situation will be provided on a weekly basis. Please contact Gloucester Lock on 01452 310832 or for Sharpness bookings ring Sharpness Pier Head on 01453 511968 or Sharpness Supervisor on 07881 914822 for up to date information. -- Martin Phillips [email protected] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
