A rescue operation is now underway at a popular beauty spot just out of Merseyside after the water levels of a local canal became so shallow that fish were left "gasping" for air.
Last week, the ECHO reported that water levels in the Sankey Canal at Spike Island, Widnes had ran so low that its fish population was put in danger due to a lack of oxygen. Boats were also stranded along the canal, as water levels have decreased massively since Fiddler's Ferry Power Station, which fed the canal, was decommissioned in 2020.
Temporary pumps were set up to keep water levels stable, though have now ceased their operations. This means water levels are dropping and fish will have to be moved, probably to the Bridgewater Canal, CheshireLive reported.
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Chris Dangling, 41, who fishes on the canal, told the ECHO that he had seen fish “gasping for air and really suffering”.
Now calls to save the canal, and its fish, have been answered by Halton Council, who have announced efforts to find a 'permanent and sustainable' solution to the issue
Contractors from environmental consultancy APEM have been hired by Halton Council to carry out a fish ‘health check’ and are currently on-site to see if they are free from disease or infections before they are moved.
A spokeswoman for Halton Council said it was working in partnership with Warrington Borough Council to find a ‘permanent and sustainable’ solution to the water issue. But she said it was likely that water levels in the canal will remain very much lower than people have been used to ‘for some time’.
She said boat owners, local angling clubs and the Sankey Canal Restoration Society have all been informed. Opened in 1757, Sankey Canal was England’s first of the Industrial revolution, and the first modern canal. Before Fiddlers Ferry began pumping water, the canal was derelict for 20 years and for much of that time it had very little water in it. The water that kept it filled in its operational years came from the Car Mill area.
The spokeswoman added: “We realise that in the short to medium term we are going to have to live with lower water levels than we have been used to. That will require certain tasks to be undertaken, such as clean-ups. Officers are currently looking at the short-term implications that will have to follow once the fish rescue has been carried out.
“What I would stress is that Halton Borough Council remains committed to the canal – it is an important historical asset, a habitat for wildlife and a much loved public amenity.“
