NIWE

On Thursday the 21st of April, a meeting has taken place of the NIWE (Network Inland Waterways Europe). The meeting was hosted by Canal & River Trust, one of the partners in the NIWE. On the Limehouse Basin in London came 10 representatives from 5 different countries gathered for an interesting agenda.

The agenda was focused on INTERREG Europe, they support interregional cooperation throughout Europe, and helps NIWE in the achievement of the goals through financing. NIWE is working on the future of the notably smaller waterways and supports several projects. NIWE is also developing a knowledge centre: a unique information exchange system for NIWE members with topics related to the waterways and management.

NIWE is currently involved in the North Sea region Interreg programme which will be evaluated in September. The projects arising from this are: DIME (support for micro-enterprises on our waterways), Blue Hubs, End or lifeboat (end of the life of the boat) and Small Hydro-systems. There are still opportunities to involve new partners in these projects.

The latest call for projects in the Atlantic Interreg programme has yielded positive conversations between Canal & River Trust, Waterways Ireland and Lagan Canal Trust. The NIWE welcomes a new Member: Rudy van der Ween, who represents the city of Ghent. The future of NIWE looks positively with a large number of projects in the pipeline, all with the common goal: increasing the quality of the network of smaller waterways.

Union Canal In-House Spot Dredging Case Study

During 2014, a number of boaters had pointed out to SC operational staff that there were high spots of sediment in the Union Canal that their boats were scraping into, making navigation difficult. These complaints were combined with data from a dipping survey in the Union Canal completed by volunteers, which supported these complaints. The survey highlighted the same areas as not meeting the advertised MOC for the Union Canal (1.07m). No entirely failing lengths were identified on the Union Canal, so line dredging was not required. As the sediment is concentrated in high spots, spot dredging was determined to be most suitable. Read more in the downloadable PDF…

Union In-House Spot Dredging Case Study Jan 2015

Forth & Clyde Canal In-House Spot Dredging Case Study

In spring/ summer 2014 a number of boaters had highlighted to SC operational staff that their boats were scraping into high points of sediment at a number of sites along a 2 kilometre stretch of the Forth & Clyde Canal. These high spots of sediment were noted from Devil’s Elbow, 500 metres west of Auchinstarry Marina, through to Twechar Bridge (Bridge 17), taking in sites through Strone Point. This stretch of the Forth & Clyde Canal has a history of sediment build-up due to a number of streams entering the canal in this area, combined with a low flow of water and a number of tight bends, meaning sediment enters the canal, and is not moved away by the water, allowing it to build up around the tight bends. Read more in the downloadable PDF…

Forth & Clyde Canal In-House Spot Dredging Case Study Oct 2014

NIWE meeting London

Scottish Canals Case Studies

Network Inland Waterways Europe