Sankey Canal: Fish rescued as water levels drop in Widnes

The canal had relied on water pumped from the Fiddler's Ferry power station

Fish are being rescued from a canal after water levels dropped following the closure of a power station that kept it topped up.

Water levels fell in the Sankey Canal in Widnes, Cheshire after Fiddler's Ferry power station was decommissioned in 2020.

The change has harmed the fish and impacted angling clubs and boat owners.

Halton Borough Council chief executive Stephen Young warned there may be no "quick fix" to the problem.

He said the canal was "an important feature of our borough" and the council remained committed to finding a solution.

Environmental experts have been assessing the health of fish before moving them to the Bridgewater Canal.

Fiddler's Ferry power station had pumped water used as part of their electricity generating process into the canal and kept it flowing for more than 40 years, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Fiddler's Ferry coal-fired power station closed in March 2020

The loss of that water means levels have been dropping in the stretch of canal that extends between Spike Island in Widnes and Fiddlers Ferry in Warrington.

Mr Young said he was working with Warrington Council to "to find a solution that allows [the Sankey Canal] to continue as an important amenity, asset and wildlife corridor".

Over the past decade, the councils, together with the Sankey Canal Restoration Society, have been working to restore the canal to navigation between Spike Island and Fiddlers Ferry marinas.

Mr Young said the council remained "committed to ensuring that any temporary arrangements do not hamper that longer term ambition".

But he warned that the canal "in the short to medium term" would "not be as local people have become used to since 1983".

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