British Waterways cares for Britain's historic canals and rivers

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A workman by a canal lock

Dredging Our Waterways

Dredging our waterways is a constant and essential element of our work. We need to dredge in order to remove increasing amounts of sediment which comes to lie and build up on the bottom of the canal. If the sediment builds up too much, it can lead to difficulties for boats cruising. We use one-man operated canal dredgers which move around our network to remove silt and load it onto hoppers to be taken away.

Dredging on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal