Every so often a news story drifts past on the towpath that makes you see the canal in a slightly different light. This week Fund Britain’s Waterways shared one of those, and it has stayed with me.
The story they shared
Fund Britain’s Waterways pointed to a Telegraph report warning that water shortages could derail plans for around a million new homes, and are piling pressure on ministers to speed up the building of new reservoirs. It is the sort of headline that sounds a long way from a lazy afternoon watching narrowboats work through a lock — and yet the two are more closely bound together than most people realise.
Our canals were, in many parts of the country, the original water network. The reservoirs that feed them were dug to keep the summit levels topped up, and that same web of channels, feeders and reservoirs still moves and stores water across the landscape today. When we talk about the future of water supply, canals and rivers are not a sentimental afterthought — they are part of the working infrastructure. You can read the post on the Fund Britain’s Waterways X feed.
Why the campaign matters
Fund Britain’s Waterways is a coalition of over a hundred and sixty organisations speaking up for the hundreds of thousands of us who use and love Britain’s canals and rivers — boaters, walkers, anglers, cyclists, wildlife lovers and waterside communities alike. Its message is a simple one: our waterways need sustainable, long-term government funding if they are to keep doing all the jobs we ask of them, from carrying water and managing floods to giving millions of people somewhere green and calm to spend their time. Stories like this one are a reminder that the case for looking after our canals is not just about leisure; it is about the resilience of the whole system.
If it matters to you too, please add your name to the petition at change.org/p/fundbritainswaterways and help spread the word with #FundBritainsWaterways. It only takes a moment, and every signature helps.
