Category Archives: Sources

Boats to return to Corbally Branch

Posted on Tuesday 27 November 2012 | Leave a comment

Well, canoes, but better than nothing.

PS for “upstream” read “downstream”, as far as I can see.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

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Royal water

Posted on Monday 26 November 2012 | 1 comment

The Royal Canal water supply applications have been approved by An Bord Pleanala. There were two separate applications [see here and here] but they were in effect treated as one. There are five PDFs available on each page and I haven’t read all of them yet. However, on a first glance, I note that:

2. The proposed development shall be operated as follows:

(a) Rates of abstraction from Lough Ennell to the Royal Canal shall be as specified  in the public notices and, in particular, shall not exceed 43,636 cubic metres of water in any 24 hour continuous period and subject to a total maximum abstraction of 6,586,363 cubic metres per annum.

(b) Abstraction from Lough Ennell to supply the Royal Canal shall cease when the  lake level reaches 79.325 mOD Malin Datum, being the crest level of Clonsingle weir, measured at Clonsingle weir by continuous monitoring.

(c) The fish pass at Clonsingle weir shall incorporate a minimum flow of 0.29m3/second.

(d) A minimum flow of 682 m3/day (0.5MGD), taken directly from Lough Owel, and excluding water from the fish farm, shall be retained in the original canal feeder.

Reason: In the interest of protecting the integrity of the Lough Ennell Special Area of Conservation and the ecological interest of the River Brosna and the canal feeder, and in the interest of protecting material assets at Lough Ennell and the River Brosna.

If I remember correctly, the amount of water available from Lough Ennell will not always provide enough (eg in a dry season) to keep the canal full. Still, this is a significant advance for Waterways Ireland and for Royal Canal enthusiasts.

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Posted in Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Natural heritage, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Sources, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

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The Park Canal

Posted on Sunday 18 November 2012 | Leave a comment

I wrote here about the Park Canal and why it should not be restored. I did not include, because I had not then seen it, a link to this report in the Limerick Post. It shows why the gates on the second lock were not replaced. The core problem is that the banks in the upper section of the canal slope too steeply to be stable.

The slope of the banks above the railway bridge (from a boat)

Happily, this deficiency in the original construction has saved us from another foolish restoration.

 

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Shannon, Sources, The cattle trade, waterways, Waterways management

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Commercial operations

Posted on Saturday 17 November 2012 | Leave a comment

An example I hadn’t come across before.

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Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Scenery, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways

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Nonsense on floats

Posted on Friday 16 November 2012 | Leave a comment

IndustrialHeritageIreland has found a local newspaper that thinks that river buses on the Grand Canal could provide commuters from west Dublin with fast transport to Google HQ at Grand Canal docks. IHI points out that the journey from Hazelhatch can take eight hours; even Dublin traffic moves faster than that.

 

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Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, waterways, Waterways management

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Royal water

Posted on Friday 16 November 2012 | Leave a comment

In April 2012 I wrote about the proposed supply of water from Lough Ennell to the Royal Canal. I said that

[…] the Lough Ennell proposal had to go to An Bord Pleanála. At any rate, two applications had to be made, one for the water abstraction and the other for the physical works. In practice, the two are being handled as one.

An Bord Pleanála asked Westmeath County Council for some more information; that has now been supplied and a decision is expected by 11 June 2012.

I have just checked An Bord Pleanála’s website for the two applications PW3005 (lodged 9 December 2011) and JA0030 (lodged 7 October 2011); both say:

Proposed decision date not available at this time.

I do not know why decisions are taking so long.

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Posted in Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

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WI commercial operating licences

Posted on Friday 16 November 2012 | 2 comments

It’s getting hard to keep up with the amount of new regulatory information Waterways Ireland is producing (not that I’m complaining: it’s good that (a) systems exist and (b) information be made public). Today it has put up a page about commercial operating licences with downloadable PDFs for new applicants and for renewals.

WI says that

Waterways Ireland will give consideration to applications for permission to carry on commercial  operations on the waterways which would serve to encourage their use and contribute towards a vibrant waterway environment.

But getting a new licence is not easy. As well as describing the proposed business, you have to have registered the boat with WI and got a Passenger Certificate for from the Marine Surveyor’s office of the Department of Transport (which ain’t easy). If you want to sell alcohol, you have to have a Passenger Vessel
Licence from the Revenue Commissioners.

You have to provide a copy of your insurance policy:

Waterways Ireland requires that vessels carrying passengers hold adequate levels of insurance and appropriately indemnifies [sic] Waterways Ireland […].

And after that you have to show that your business has a chance of surviving:

Waterways Ireland is required to satisfy itself of the financial and economic standing of entities with whom it proposes to contract. In order to make this assessment, please provide relevant information such as recent accounts or Business Plan (including resources, financing, programme for delivery, target market, etc.).

And you have to supply a current Tax Clearance Certificate.

It seems that folk without capital (including working capital) need not apply.

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Shannon, Sources, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

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More on WI and the canals

Posted on Thursday 15 November 2012 | Leave a comment

It says here:

A number of questions have been repeatedly posed since the initial communications about the Canal Bye-law Enforcement. These are listed below in the following categories. Click on the category to access the questions and answers.

Five downloadable PDFs on

 

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Sources, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

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WI EML

Posted on Thursday 15 November 2012 | Leave a comment

EML? Extended Mooring Locations. Lots more info from WI here including a map and list of locations to be EMLed in 2012/13 and PDF maps for each of the locations currently being done.

A big shout out for whoever in WI has taken charge of using the website to keep folk informed: there has been a noticeable, and welcome, increase in the amount of information being made available.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, waterways, Waterways management

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Save the newts: abandon the Clones sheugh!

Posted on Monday 12 November 2012 | 2 comments

Why has the proposed sheugh not yet been approved in Northern ireland? Because the Northern Ireland Environment Agency has been asking hard questions. WI has very kindly put the answers on its website.

The newts are going to be evicted, the stables may have to go but the Orange Hall won’t be affected. Hours of interesting reading.

 

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Tourism, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

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