Drought conditions led to navigation restrictions or closures across around 400 miles of waterways in 2025/26, according to the Canal & River Trust’s latest annual report, which highlights the growing pressure extreme weather places on the network and the investment needed to maintain it.
“This was a challenging year for our waterways, with drought placing enormous pressure on canals, reservoirs, wildlife and the people who depend on them,” says David Orr, the Trust’s chair.
The Trust’s Annual Report & Accounts 2025/26 says 20 per cent of its network was affected at the peak of the drought in late August and early September 2025. As water shortages worsened, the Trust suspended its 14-day movement rule for boats in England and Wales, allowing boaters to stay put where moving would have been difficult. The drought followed an exceptionally dry spring, while reservoir drawdowns for essential works and restrictions on water abstraction further reduced water availability.
Despite the pressure on the network, the Trust says it kept more than 80 per cent of its waterways fully open and operational. However, the report highlights the challenges of maintaining navigation across ageing infrastructure increasingly exposed to extreme weather.
Infrastructure under pressure
The Trust completed more than £55 million of major infrastructure projects during the year and spent around £29 million upgrading reservoirs. It also spent £7.3 million on dredging, removing more than 75,000 tonnes of material, improving nearly 60 miles of waterway, and completing 137 major winter maintenance projects across 45 canals and rivers.
The report details several incidents affecting navigation, including the December 2025 breach on the Llangollen Canal at Whitchurch. Repairs to the embankment are expected to take around 12 months. A culvert collapse on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal also caused a closure before the canal reopened in April 2026.
Drought can cause structural damage and reduce water levels. On the Kennet & Avon Canal, serious problems developed on six locks after heavy winter rain and the subsequent summer drought, resulting in navigation closures during the first three months of the boating season.
Boater satisfaction improves
Boater satisfaction rose from 46 per cent in 2024/25 to 55 per cent, though it remained below the Trust’s 60 per cent target. The report identifies dredging, vegetation management, lock repairs and the condition of boater facilities as continuing priorities.
The Trust has committed an additional £2 million for the year ahead to address leaking locks, overgrown trees and encroaching weeds, and to begin a phased increase in dredging. It is also continuing a £3 million investment over three years to tackle broken lock paddles and improve facilities, alongside a further £4.5 million over five years for upgrades including water points, pump-out facilities and Elsan points.
Funding remains a challenge
The Trust recorded income of £255.3 million in 2025/26, up from £232.6 million the previous year. However, net expenditure before gains on investments was £30.5 million, up from £800,000 in 2024/25.
The report notes that the Trust received an additional £6.5 million in one-off funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Its main Defra grant has remained fixed at £52.6 million a year since 2021/22 and is due to expire in 2027. The Trust estimates it would have received more than £40 million in additional funding up to and including 2025/26 had the grant risen in line with inflation.
The Welsh Government has also agreed to contribute towards increased water-supply costs for the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal over the next five years.
The report warns that drought conditions experienced in 2025 continued beyond the reporting period, with another major drought in 2026 putting waterways across England and Wales under renewed pressure. The Trust says investment in resilience is increasingly important to maintain navigation and support the waterways’ wider role in water management and wildlife conservation.
The Canal & River Trust’s Annual Report & Accounts 2025/26 is available online.
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