Navigation Closure Update Lock Flights, Wigan to Leeds Details Type: Navigation Closure
Waterway(s): Leeds & Liverpool Canal
From: 22 May 2025, 5pm
To: On-going
Region: North West
Reason: Low Water Levels
Subject to review on: 1 August 2025 Location Closest waterway: Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Starts at: Lock 85, Lock 21
Ends at: Lock 2, Office Lock Descriptions Update 16 July 2025, 3:40pm Unfortunately, we’ve had very little rain since our last update. With the warm, dry weather continuing, there’s been no improvement in water levels. Any rain that has fallen has been quickly absorbed into the already dry landscape, meaning there’s been little benefit to the canals or reservoirs. Consequently, the lock closures along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal will need to remain in place for now. We’re continuing to monitor the situation daily and will share our next update on or before Friday 1 August 2025 or sooner if anything changes. Our priority is to reopen the lock flights as soon as rainfall replenishes the reservoirs to safe operating levels. If we do receive enough rainfall to allow for safe navigation, restrictions will be lifted immediately. However, this is likely to require steady, prolonged rainfall over several weeks, rather than a single heavy downpour. If you spot any leaks or have concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0303 040 4040 or via our Contact Us page.
Update 3 July 2025, 4:23pm With little rainfall since our last update, and the continuation of warm, dry weather forecasted, our summit reservoirs continue to be below the long-term average for this time of year. We have also started to see reduced water available from surface water feeders. This has led to an impact of less water reaching the lower parts of the eastern side of the canal, which are predominantly river fed and furthest from the summit reservoirs, particularly between Bingley and Leeds. As such, we are extending the suspension of navigation along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal with effect from Friday 4 July 2025. The suspension will now cover the following sites: Wigan Lock Flight (Locks 85 to 65) Blackburn Lock Flight (Locks 57 to 52) Johnsons Hillock Lock Flight (Locks 64 to 58) Barrowford Lock Flight (Locks 51 to 45) Greenberfield Lock Flight (Locks 44 to 42) Bank Newton Locks (Locks 41 to 36) Gargrave – Holme Bridge Lock (Locks 35 to 30) Bingley 5 & 3 Rise and all locks onwards to Leeds. Access through River Lock, Leeds into Granary Wharf will remain open. The canal downstream of Wigan to Liverpool will remain open and we will continue to monitor the water levels closely. These closures are necessary to protect the limited water resources and to help preserve canal infrastructure and ecology. We are regularly reviewing our reservoir holding position and updating our forward forecasts of water usage to inform us when we may be in a position to re-open the canal both partially, and in full. Cruising within the long pounds between lock flights may still be possible, where local water levels permit. However, passage through the listed locks will not be possible. The affected locks are physically secured, and water loss will be minimised through sealing the lock gates and reducing flows passing by the lock flights. Next Steps: We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide fortnightly updates, or sooner if conditions change. We are also preparing contingency measures for situations where it is not possible to maintain water levels in some sections of the canal. This includes carrying out fish rescues. We understand that this continues to be disappointing news, and our priority is to reopen the canal to full navigation as soon as possible. We thank you for your support in reducing water use across our network and reporting leaks or concerns via 0303 040 4040 or our Contact Us page.
Next Update: On or before Friday 18 July 2025. Update 20 June 2025, 10:44am Our summit reservoirs have started to benefit from the rainfall in recent weeks, however, remain at a level below their long-term average for this time of year. As such, navigation through the following lock flights along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal will remain suspended: Wigan Lock Flight (Locks 85 to 65) Blackburn Lock Flight (Locks 57 to 52) Johnsons Hillock Lock Flight (Locks 64 to 58) Barrowford Lock Flight (Locks 51 to 45) Greenberfield Lock Flight (Locks 44 to 42) Bank Newton Locks (Locks 41 to 36) Gargrave – Holme Bridge Lock (Locks 35 to 30) These closures remain necessary to protect the limited water resources and to help preserve canal infrastructure and ecology. We are regularly reviewing our reservoir holding position and updating our forward forecasts of water usage to inform us when we may be in a position to re-open the canal both partially, and in full. We have been able to maintain levels within the Marton pound thanks to recent rainfall and inflows to the summit reservoirs and have stood down our contingency plans to lower the Marton pound in the immediate future. Cruising within the long pounds between lock flights may still be possible, where local water levels permit. However, passage through the listed locks will not be possible. The affected locks are physically secured, and water loss will be minimised through sealing the lock gates and reducing flows passing by the lock flights. The canal downstream of Wigan to Liverpool will remain open and we will continue to monitor the water levels closely. Bingley 5 Rise and Bingley 3 Rise will now open Thursday through to Sunday, with reduced operating hours in place to support water conservation. The Leeds section of canal from Kirkstall to Office Lock will close to navigation from Monday 23 June 2025 due to the shortage of water within this section. More information about this particular section of closure can be found here. Access through River Lock, Leeds into Granary Wharf will remain open. Next Steps: We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide fortnightly updates, or sooner if conditions change. We understand that this continues to be disappointing news, and our priority is to reopen the canal to full navigation as soon as possible. We thank you for your support in reducing water use across our network and reporting leaks or concerns via 0303 040 4040 or our Contact Us page.
Next Update: on or before Friday 4 July 2025. Update 6 June 2025, 1:07pm This Spring (2025) has been the warmest, sunniest and one of the driest on record. Recent showery, and occasionally heavy, rainfall has made little impact to either the reservoir holding levels or canal inflows, with rain largely absorbed into the ground. As such, navigation through the following lock flights along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal will remain suspended: Wigan Lock Flight (Locks 85 to 65) Blackburn Lock Flight (Locks 57 to 52) Johnsons Hillock Lock Flight (Locks 64 to 58) Barrowford Lock Flight (Locks 51 to 45) Greenberfield Lock Flight (Locks 44 to 42) Bank Newton Locks (Locks 41 to 36) Gargrave – Holme Bridge Lock (Locks 35 to 30) These closures remain necessary to protect increasingly limited water resources and to help preserve canal infrastructure and ecology. In addition, we will start to reduce the water feed to the Marton pound of the canal over the coming days, and anyone in this area will see a noticeable reduction in water levels. Any boats still moored in this pound should prepare accordingly in accordance with our previous communication. Cruising within the long pounds between these lock flights may still be possible, where local water levels permit. However, passage through the listed locks will not be possible. The affected locks are physically secured, and water loss will be minimised through sealing the lock gates and reducing flows passing by the lock flights. The canal downstream of Wigan to Liverpool will remain open and we will continue to monitor the water levels closely. Access through River Lock, Leeds into Granary Wharf will remain open. Bingley 5 Rise and Bingley 3 Rise will now open Thursday through to Sunday, with reduced operating hours in place to support water conservation. Passage through Kirkstall Locks, Forge and Newlay Locks, Office Lock and Spring Garden Lock will be available Friday to Monday between the hours of 9am – 3pm. Whilst the locks have been closed to navigation, we have taken the opportunity to complete a number of paddle repairs to several of the locks, with further repairs planned to take place over the next few weeks. Next Steps We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide fortnightly updates, or sooner if conditions change. We understand that this continues to be disappointing news, and our priority is to reopen the canal to full navigation as soon as possible. We thank you for your support in reducing water use across our network. reporting leaks or concerns via 0303 040 4040 or our Contact Us page.
Next Update on or before Friday 20 June 2025. Update 21 May 2025, 3:38pm We want to thank everyone for their continued support and understanding as we work hard to keep the canal levels to Leeds open. Our teams have been doing an incredible job managing water resources, especially during this challenging period. To help us conserve water and maintain safe navigation, we will be introducing some additional measures to those we announced on Friday, 16 May. Starting Tuesday 27 May, we will be adjusting the lock operations between Office Lock and Spring Garden Lock as follows: Locks will be open from Friday through to Monday between 9:00am to 3:00pm Locks will be closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays This will help us preserve water levels while still allowing boaters to enjoy access during the busier parts of the week. Please note that River Lock will remain open, so boaters will still be able to access Granary Wharf without any changes. We will provide a further update on the Friday 6 June 2025. Update 16 May 2025, 4:10pm We have continued to monitor the exceptionally dry conditions, and the impact on our declining reservoir holdings. Unfortunately, despite all operational efforts to conserve water, as rainfall has remained well below the long-term average the situation has not improved. We can now confirm that, from the last passages on Thursday 22 May, the following lock flights will be closed to navigation until there is enough rainfall to replenish our reservoirs: Wigan Lock Flight (Locks 85 to 65) Blackburn Lock Flight (Locks 57 to 52) Johnsons Hillock Lock Flight (Locks 64 to 58) Barrowford Lock Flight (Locks 51 to 45) Greenberfield Lock Flight (Locks 44 to 42) Bank Newton Locks (Locks 41 to 36) Gargrave Holme Bridge Lock (Locks 35 to 30) These closures are necessary to protect increasingly limited water resources and to help preserve canal infrastructure and ecology. We hope that this early confirmation allows time for boaters to adjust their plans and relocate as needed. Cruising within the long pounds between these lock flights may still be possible, where local water levels permit. However, passage through the listed locks will not be possible. The affected locks will be physically secured, and water loss will be minimised through sealing the lock gates and reducing flows passing by the lock flights. Bingley 5 Rise, Bingley 3 Rise, Kirkstall, Forge and Newlay Locks will remain open Thursday through to Monday, with reduced operating hours in place to support water conservation. The canal downstream of Wigan to Liverpool and Kirkstall to River Lock, Leeds, will remain open and we will continue to monitor the water levels closely. If your boat is currently in an area likely to be affected, we strongly recommend that you relocate to a place where you will continue to have access to customer services, facilities, and support. We understand this will be disappointing and disruptive to boating plans along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and we assure you this decision has not been taken lightly. What’s Next? We will continue to monitor the situation daily and will provide fortnightly updates, or sooner if conditions change. Our priority remains to reopen the lock flights as soon as rainfall replenishes reservoir to sufficient levels. Future updates will include further details of any repair and leak-prevention works carried out during the closure period. We again ask for your support in reducing water use wherever possible, sharing locks before closures take effect, and reporting leaks or concerns via 0303 040 4040 or our Contact Us page.
Thank you for your continued understanding and cooperation during this exceptionally dry period. Our next update will be on or before Friday 6 June 2025. Original 7 May 2025, 3:25pm We are currently experiencing the driest three-month period in over 90 years. The cumulative deficit in rainfall in 2025 so far is comparable to several historical droughts such as 1976, 1995 and 2003. Reservoirs across the country are reported to be 10% lower than usual. We’re also part-way through a programme of major reservoir improvements, as required by legislation, so we were not able to start this season with complete holdings for several reservoirs. These factors are placing considerable pressure on the water situation affecting the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. These are exceptional circumstances, and we want to explain what this means for our boating customers, what we are doing in response, and how we can work together to minimise the impact. Despite our best efforts to reduce water loss and manage the system carefully, water levels in our feeder reservoirs are continuing to fall as a result of canal water demands. We are doing everything operationally possible to conserve what water we have. This includes minimising flows where appropriate, reviewing options for filling leaks and managing known losses, coordinating lock operations to reduce wastage and exploring operational restrictions to stretch remaining resources. Notwithstanding our efforts, the lack of rainfall means that water supplies are now significantly below Long-Term Average and lower than the same time in the 2010, 2018 and 2022 droughts. Without significant and sustained rainfall, we face the reality of implementing closures to some sections of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal to navigation until we have sufficient rainfall. At present, we anticipate that the locks will need to close by Tuesday 27 May, and if the situation worsens significantly, closures may have to come into effect as early as Tuesday 20 May. In addition to this, we are preparing for the possibility of short-notice temporary closures. These would be introduced only when absolutely necessary to give the canal a chance to recover water levels in specific sections. Additionally, we must reduce opening hours at certain locks as follows: From Tuesday 13 May, Bingley 5 Rise, Bingley 3 Rise, Kirkstall Forge and Newlay Locks will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and open Thursday through Monday aligning with reduced operating hours to conserve water. From Tuesday 27 May the following lock flights will also be closed: Wigan Lock Flight (85 to 65) Blackburn Lock Flight (57 to 52) Johnsons Hillock Lock Flight (64 to 58) Barrowford Lock Flight (51 to 45) Greenberfield Lock Flight (44 to 42) Bank Newton Locks (41 to 36) Gargrave (Holme Bridge Lock 30) If your boat is currently in an area likely to be affected, we strongly recommend using the time before any closure is implemented to relocate to a place where you will continue to have access to customer services, facilities, and support. We understand how important it is to have time to plan, especially for those cruising or running businesses on the canal. We truly appreciate the circumstances are disappointing and disruptive, particularly for boaters with upcoming trips. That’s why we are committing to giving at least two weeks’ notice ahead of any full closure, so you have time to adjust your plans or move to alternative locations where needed. What we are doing? If closures are implemented, we will take additional steps to conserve as much water as possible. During this period affected lock flights will be secured against operation. The gates will be ‘ashed up’ (a traditional method of sealing gates) to reduce leakage and reduce water loss through the lock structures. Although the use of the lock flights will be suspended, cruising between the locks will remain possible where water levels permit, so local movement may still be feasible for many boaters. This is not a decision we’re making lightly. A great deal of work is underway to prepare for both the short and long term. A dedicated Operational Water Resource Commander has been appointed to lead our response to the drought and coordinate our teams. We are working closely with partners to manage every aspect of the situation. We are monitoring the canal and reservoirs daily, assessing levels and evaluating the best operational decisions to sustain navigation where it is safe and possible. We are also using this time to carry out works that improve the canal’s resilience including continuing to inspect our infrastructure and repair leaks. Future updates will contain more detail on how we will make use of any closed time to carry out leak prevention works. What you can do to help in the short period before closure? Your cooperation during this time is essential and deeply appreciated. Here are some things you can do to help reduce strain on the system: Share locks where possible and make the best use of the water available. Make sure paddles are fully closed once you’ve passed through a lock. Aim for minimal contact when navigating through locks by ensuring gates are fully open as you pass through. Pushing gates open using a boat can damage the gate lining, increasing its leakage. If you spot a leak or any suspicious activities please call us on 0303 040 4040 or emailing via contact-us
For the current lock opening times until they closed can be found on our dedicated page: Leeds & Liverpool Canal Boating Information When will the canal reopen? This depends on rainfall, so we are unable to predict this. Certain reservoirs respond very quickly to rainfall, so prolonged wet weather in the right place can make a big difference. We are committed to reopening the canal as soon as we can. Next update Our next scheduled update will be on Friday 16 May, when we will provide a clearer picture of the situation and confirm whether closures will be necessary. Information You can view this notice and its map online here:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/0196ab11-3e87-7063-8add-2861b63f6abc You can find all notices at the url below:
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