Summer drought conditions hit Basingstoke Canal in March

I WAS met with an alarming sight today while walking the dog along the Basingstoke Canal where the water has dropped to well below summer levels despite recent heavy rainfall.

As the pictures show, the near-side shelf is clearly visible and it's the same on the far bank. Most of the stretch I walked between the Farnborough Road bridge and Iron Bridge would be awkward to fish as the angler would be so high off the water.

I must admit that I was thoroughly confused by the situation particularly as there has been so much rainfall during the past week. That was until I spoke to John Campbell of the Basingstoke Canal Angling Association (BCAA) who was chatting to an angler optimistic enough to fish the stretch in its current state.

He explained that there had been a breach at Dogmersfield where water had been escaping over the banks. To stem this flow the Basingstoke Canal Authority (BCA) has dammed the section to try and prevent any further loss of water.

But as a result water has been prevented from moving out of the dammed section to replace any that is lost further down. This means if a lock is opened and water rushes out nothing will be available to replace it from higher up.

This seems to be the most likely explanation for the severely depleted levels, as Ash Lock is not far away and a recent opening would force water to flow out of the stretch with nothing able to flow down and replace it.

It will be interesting to see if the Newtown Angling Club match scheduled for tomorrow between Farnborough Road Bridge and Iron Bridge goes ahead and if so, what the results will be.

As for the fish, oxygen levels should remain sufficient and not cause them a problem as they don't have scorching summer heat to contend with as well as the low water levels.

Hopefully they will have found shelter elsewhere to replace the bank-side cover they've lost and levels can be restored before they start to spawn. The margins play an important part in this process and the Basingstoke Canal is still subject to a closed season in order for the fish to reproduce without harassment from anglers. It doesn't bode well for the new season and the next year class of fish, however, if this problem drags on and they find themselves with nowhere to do it.