Hundreds of fish carried to safety as Birmingham canal drained
Part of an historic canal in Birmingham city centre has been drained and hundreds of fish carried to safety as experts try to source the location of a leak.
Engineers began work on Gas Street Basin, near the Mailbox, which is part of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, yesterday. They have taken action due to fears that leaks reported over the last week could get worse.
Water has been seen pouring from an aqueduct into a disused railway tunnel.
Boats moored on the 200m (656ft) stretch of the canal were moved along the waterway before thousands of gallons of water were drained.
Hundreds of fish were also scooped out of the water and moved to another part of the canal to allow work to begin. Roach, pike and carp all had to be stunned so they could be moved from the section of the canal. Tyres, trolleys and other litter discarded into the canal became visible as the water level receded.
Hayley Harper, the project manager for the Canal and Trust, admitted there had not been a lot of time to plan the necessary work.
She said: "Leaks were reported, I understand, last weekend and they are getting worse. The leak appears to be quite significant so we need to know as soon as possible exactly where it is coming from.
"The only we way we can know for sure is to drain the canal."
The waterway is expected to stay closed for a month until the work is complete.
