Hundreds of miles of waterways – along with their unique heritage and habitats – are currently starved of funding and rely on constant lobbying by us to safeguard their future.

It is vitally important that publicly owned waterways continue to receive funding from the Government. 

This includes the 2000 miles managed by Canal & River Trust, the 630 miles run by the Environment Agency and those operated by Scottish Canals.

With access to towpaths and river paths being free, waterways are ideal for people to use for walking, jogging, cycling, fishing, using boats and making journeys to work or shops. 

Inland waterways benefit everyone including improved health and wellbeing through opportunities for holidays, exercise and recreation. There are also financial benefits to local economies through tourism, employment and regeneration.

In March 2023, IWA launched a major new campaign to #ProtectOurWaterways.

In order to deliver the funding strand of the #ProtectOurWaterways campaign, in June 2023 IWA joined with other major waterways organisations to launch the #FundBritainsWaterways campaign. Read about the launch and the campaign.