Dredging the canal
Posted on Friday 17th January 2020
Sections of the Monmouthshie and Brecon canal are due to be dredged with silt removal taking place
Newport City Council is due to carry out dredging on local sections of the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal from Monday (20/1/2020)
The first section to be tackled will be Bettws Lane to Mill Heath, moving on to Allt-Yr-Yn in the week commencing 27 January, then Ruskin Avenue in Rogerstone the week starting 3 February 2020.
The dredging work is necessary and will be done as sympathetically as possible with minimum impact on people and wildlife. It will not affect anyone using the towpath.
Dredging is the scooping up of the sediment from the bottom of the waterway and removing it.
If the council fails to dredge the canals they are at risk of silting up, this prevents the water from running freely which could also affect land drainage.
It would also damage the water quality which in turn would have a negative effect on the flora, fauna and other wildlife.
Good water quality is absolutely vital for waterway wildlife. Dredging reduces the amount of sediment in the water that will otherwise get stirred. Suspended sediment can have an impact by covering and smothering water plants and aquatic invertebrates.
The silt dredged from the canal will be placed on the sides of the canal, where it will be left for a number of weeks.
Although this can look unsightly it is vital to allow all of the aquatic invertebrates to make their way back in to the water. When the council is satisfied all of the creatures and critters have returned to the water we will come back and remove the silt deposits later on in the spring.
In some cases where the banks of the canal are too narrow it may be necessary to remove the silt completely. This will be deposited in the corner of the carpark off Bettws Lane, again giving the invertebrates a chance to return to the water.