'Water is massively important - but it's taken for granted': Boaters stage Walsall protest in plea for government waterway help
More than 20 narrowboats have moored in Walsall town centre to campaign for more government help in maintaining the nation's waterways.
Narrowboats of all sizes and colours were seen moored at the Walsall Canal Basin, just off Gallery Square in the town centre, today (Saturday), to campaign for government help in the maintenance of the nation's waterways.
The campaign was organised by 'Funding Britain's Waterways', an association of different organisations, with the aim of getting more government funding to help with waterway maintenance.
While campaigning for an important issue, the '24-strong' gathering also helped to spread awareness to the general public over the importance of the canal systems in the borough, and gave many a chance to see the beautifully designed boats in person.
Talking about the campaign, Barbara Busby, who has lived on a narrowboat for 9 years, said: "Water is massively important in the UK, but it's so often forgotten about.
"There are several different authorities, such as the Canal and River Trust, who operate in the country, and they're responsible for maintaining the waterways, but they're charities, so they are funded by the public."
Barbara said the campaign hopes to implore the government to give more funding to the groups organising the clean-up and maintenance of the water systems, and to raise awareness over the usefulness of our waterways.
She added: "This is about getting a proper system of funding, at a proper level, where we can properly maintain the infrastructure. Our water systems are only going to get more damage as time goes on.
"This isn't something that is just beneficial to boat users; it's also important ecologically, economically, and is important for many people's health.
"Unless our charities are properly funded, they won't be able to properly maintain and upgrade our systems so they have a sustainable future."
The campaign comes following two major incidents involving the canals in both the West Midlands and Shropshire.
In August 2024, approximately 4,000 litres of sodium and zinc cyanide were leaked into the canal system in Walsall by metal finishing group Anochrome Ltd, whilst in Llangollen Canal, in Whitchurch, in December 2025, high water levels and an ingress of water into the earthworks caused a 'sinkhole' to appear, and nearby land to become flooded.
In both instances, the water systems were closed to boaters for a number of weeks.
