The Cam Conservancy (the Navigation Authority in charge of 6 miles of the River Cam in Cambridgeshire) has warned that it may “become unviable and inoperative” without intervention, as its financial struggles continue and its two locks remain closed. This is a crisis that threatens not just Cambridge’s river users, but the city’s economy and safety. However, this isn’t contained to one area.
The Cam Conservancy’s situation is symptomatic of a vulnerability that could threaten the entire waterway network along with communities and businesses nationally. Across Great Britain, navigation authorities are buckling under mounting financial pressures and climate change impacts.
IWA supports the Cam Conservancy’s urgent call for a comprehensive national review of waterways infrastructure. Our rivers and canals aren’t just recreational assets, they’re vital for local economies and the environment, an irreplaceable part of our national heritage and they must be well maintained to prevent flooding and risk to life. For this reason IWA is leading the Fund Britain’s Waterways coalition of more than 160 organisations to campaign for sufficient funding to safeguard the future of our waterways
