Grand Contour Canal
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{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
The Grand Contour Canal in England and Wales was intended to enhance and upgrade the British canal system, but was never built. This canal was proposed in 1943, and again ten years later, by J F Pownall. Pownall observed that there was a natural 'contour' down the spine of England, around the 300 ft level that connected several of the most populated areas. He put forward the idea that this contour could be used to define the course of a large European sized canal which contained no locks except at its entry and exit points. It would also serve as a water grid capable of distributing domestic water supply around England as need arises.
The proposal would have accommodated 300-ton continental-size barges.[http://www.waterwaysworld.com/latestpost.cgi?post=2602 Boris revives Pownall's Grand Contour Canal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812095620/http://www.waterwaysworld.com/latestpost.cgi?post=2602 |date=12 August 2014 }} waterwaysworld.com . 2012, Accessed Sept 2013 Feeder conduit canals at the same contour level would have been used to bring water into the system from North Wales, The Pennines and the South West Peninsula.
It was also named The Three-hundred-foot Canal for its height above sea level, {{convert|310|ft|m}}. It was to be {{convert|100|ft|m}} wide by {{convert|17|ft|m}} deep, with {{convert|25|ft|m}} headroom. (For comparison, this would be a CEMT Class VIb waterway, carrying ships of similar size to the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal.)
It was intended to connect the major industrial centres of London, Bristol, Southampton, Coventry, Birmingham, Nottingham, Derby, Chester, Manchester, Blackburn, Bradford, Hartlepool and Newcastle, with vertical lift locks at the nine termini, having tanks {{convert|250|ft|m}} by {{convert|35|ft|m}} by {{convert|14|ft|m}} draught. A {{convert|6|mi|km|adj=on}} long tunnel was proposed between Airedale and Ribblesdale.
The scheme was intended both for transport and for a water supply grid, for water distribution is a major problem in London and South East England.
In 2012 the scheme was brought back to attention after Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, showed his support for the scheme as a way to transport water from the higher, and wetter, areas of Wales, Scotland, and northern England to the 'breadbasket' of the south east.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/8571614/Ignore-this-rain-its-the-drought-that-we-need-to-think-about.html |title=Ignore this rain, it's the drought that we need to think about |first=Boris |last=Johnson |publisher=Daily Telegraph |date=12 June 2011}} A maximum flow of water of some {{convert|2000|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}} anywhere in either direction was visualised, sourced from the Northern Pennines {{convert|800|sqmi|km2}}, the Dee, the Severn and the Wye {{convert|1040|sqmi|km2}} and Exmoor {{convert|160|sqmi|km2}}.
Earlier schemes
The Elan Valley Reservoirs scheme (1892) in mid-Wales (capacity 99,000 megalitres) which includes (with four others) the Craig Goch Dam{{cite web |url=http://history.powys.org.uk/history/rhayader/craig.html |title=Elan Valley dams - Craig Goch dam |publisher=Powys Digital History Project |accessdate=22 August 2013}} provides water to Birmingham (pop. 1 million), but was designed looking forward 63 years.William Bradford et al, 2010, "A review of the 1892 water demand forecast for Birmingham", Institution of Civil Engineers, LondonJournal of Engineering History and Heritage, 163, 39-49'The Future Water Supply of Birmingham' by Thomas Barclay, published in 1898
Lake Vyrnwy was created by the construction of the first large masonry dam in Britain, between 1881 and 1888, to provide an urgently needed new water supply for the growing city of Liverpool, and the water from the Welsh mountains was to be carried by an aqueduct to the city.{{cite web |url=http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/llanfyllin/lakemenu.shtml |title=Llanfyllin and district - Lake Vyrnwy |publisher=Powys Digital History Project |accessdate=22 August 2013}}
The Longdendale Reservoir, in the Pennines {{convert|18|mi|km}} east of Manchester, was one of the first of its kind in the country when it was opened in 1851. By 1875 it was obvious that growing population of the city would need even more water, so plans were drawn up to construct a reservoir in the Lake District.{{cite web |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/13398/water_supply |title=Public Health in 19th Century Manchester - Water Supply |author=King David High School |accessdate=22 August 2013 |archive-date=27 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427170705/http://www.manchester.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/13398/water_supply |url-status=dead }} Thirlmere (1894) now provides water for Manchester {{convert|100|mi|km}} away.
See also
- Canals of Great Britain
- List of canals of the United Kingdom - list also covers abandoned and proposed canals
Further reading
- "Engineering", Vol 153 (1942) p. 263
- "Engineering", Vol 156 (1943) p. 281
- "Engineering", 11 Dec. 1953, p. 741
- "Water and Sanitary Engineer"
- "Dock and Harbour" journal
- Bateman, John, History and Description of the Manchester Waterworks, 1884 (628.1)
- Harwood, J. J., History and Description of the Thirlmere Water Scheme, 1895 (628 1 H1)
- Quayle, Tom, Reservoirs in the Hills, 1988 (q628.132QU)
- Thirlmere Defence Association, Manchester and Thirlmere Water Scheme, 1877 (628.1)
- The Manchester Corporation Waterworks Undertaking – A Short History and Description, 1930 (628 1 Ma(660))
- M126 Manchester and Salford Sanitary Association, 1848–1924
- M231 Manchester and Salford Waterworks Co.,1836–1841, Manchester Corporation Waterworks, 1848–1966
- "The Grand Contour Pt.1" by Michael Baldwin, Waterways World, Sept 1975, p. 23
- "The Grand Contour Pt.2" by Michael Baldwin, Waterways World, Oct 1975, p. 22
References
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External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071028010639/http://www.msim.org.uk/media/1186658/waterandwasteteacherspdf.pdf Museum of Science & Industry: ‘Underground Manchester’ Gallery]
Category:Water supply and sanitation in England
Category:Proposed transport infrastructure in England