Andrew has provided a further update on the canal breach via his Facebook page, which you can read below.
Andrew explains, "I am conscious a lot of my posts are about this issue at the moment and it may not be relevant to residents in many of the other communities I represent, particularly those in Lincolnshire. However, it is important so please bear with me. Lots of other work is going on too and I have just come off a good update on the vaccine roll-out. Our local hospitals received their deliveries today to start their staff vaccinations.
"As to the canal, here is the latest I have received from the Canal and Rivers Trust. I've pushed them on the timings for starting the works they mention and they have said they will start work on the two cofferdams asap. I will keep pushing."
Here is their update from today's meeting -
Update 05/01/2021
The Trust continues to carry out inspections of the breach site twice per day to ensure safety of the area. These inspections have confirmed that the repair is structurally sound and there is no further flood risk. The Trust has lowered water levels in the canal to reduce the rate of water loss from the breach and the escaped water is being pumped away into the River Don. The water levels in the canal are being managed through the pumps near Goole dock.
The Trust’s project team met on Monday 4th January to begin work to repair the breach. The repair work will first require the removal of the water from a section of the canal around the breach point. This will involve the construction of a temporary dam at two locations by piling across the navigation to create a ‘cofferdam’. The design of these temporary works has commenced.
Once the cofferdam is in place, which we expect to be in the next few weeks, the water in the canal can be pumped around it in order to ensure a constant water supply to feed Goole docks. Until the cofferdam is in place it is difficult to be precise how long a permanent repair will take as this very much depends on what damage we find once the water is removed.
The twice daily inspection of the damaged area of canal bank will continue until this cofferdam is in place to ensure public safety. Although we understand that local people may like to visit the site to see the work we’ve done, we advise people to stay well away from the area where the breach has occurred.
