NORTHWICH is at risk from flooding because the Weaver is not dredged often enough, says a leading river magazine.
Keith Langston, a specialist writer for Towpath Talk, says the build-up of silt obstructs the flow of water – and could cause the river to overspill its banks in heavy rains.
His article in this month’s magazine outlines what he describes as “the mounting problems in British Waterways maintenance backlog”.
He says British Waterways Wales and Border Counties does not have a big enough budget to dredge the riverbeds annually – so it resorts to ‘spot dredging’ in parts of the river.
Mr Langston says the Weaver is particularly vulnerable to flooding in the winter – and the silt also poses a risk of boats grounding.
He said one boat with a draught of 6’ 6” has run aground on a stretch of water which should, by law, be 9’ 6” deep.
Mr Langston says the “good people of Northwich” need to realise the risk of the town centre flooding if the Weaver is not dredged to its proper depth regularly.
British Waterways customer operations manager David Baldacchino said dredging is under way to remove silt at the Weaver’s confluence with the Dane.
He said: “It’s a continual problem that must be dealt with on a regular basis.
“We undertake dredging of the Weaver Navigation to maintain the depth for navigation. In the current works alone, we will remove around 3,000 tonnes of silt from the river.
“Responsibility for flood management rests with the Environment Agency and we’re working closely with them.”
