Written question asked by David Heyes (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 November 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 November 2011. It was answered by Lord Benyon (Conservative) on Monday, 21 November 2011 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Inland Waterways: Dredging

Question: (2) what estimate she has made of the length of British Waterways' canals and rivers to be dredged in 2011-12.

Answer: Dredging is an operational matter for British Waterways (BW) and it applies risk based prioritisation to its maintenance expenditure. The Government require BW to operate and maintain waterways to standards that reflect use and prospects of use.BW undertakes regular waterway channel depth surveys to identify which stretches of its canals fail to meet the minimum depth to enable reasonable navigation in a location. Around 287 kms of the 3,000 km network currently do not meet the criteria and consequently require dredging. The cost of undertaking this dredging would be around £40 million.BW plan to dredge, at a cost of £4.2 million, 45 km of canals and rivers in 2011-12, and in addition will spend £1.2 million on various high priority locations that have been identified as creating particular boating constraints.

Secondary information