Trust 'working tirelessly' across the West Midlands to keep water moving around canals during drought
The Canal and River Trust West Midlands team say they are doing what they can to maximize the use of the water and move it to where it's needed
The West Midlands team of a UK-wide charity looking after the network of canals and navigable rivers has said it is doing what it can to keep the waterways running during this period of warm, dry weather.
Drought status was officially declared for the region by the Environment Agency last week after it had previously been classed as being in a spell of prolonged dry weather.
The Met Office has also confirmed provisionally, England and Wales have recorded their driest July on record, with it receiving only 10% of its expected total for the month.
Operations manager for the West Midlands Canal and River Trust, Richard Preston, said they have been busy as a result of this making sure there is enough water in the system to go around.
"We have a team of really dedicated colleagues supported by some fantastic volunteers and we've been working tirelessly to move water where it's needed most," he said.
"Sometimes that's just not practically possible, waterways don't always connect, you can't push water uphill, so it isn't always possible to move it to where you need it.
"We've got places where we've got enough water and others where we are struggling, so we're doing our best to maximize the use of that water and move it to where it's needed."
The Canal and River Trust is known as the UK's largest canal charity, looking after 2,000 miles of waterways, including the likes of Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal.
Alongside its own work in the West Midlands, Mr Preston said those who are using the network across the region can also help conserve water.
"I think it's really important that we all play our part," he said.
"We've got leaks and gates that need work doing to it, but equally, we also need people to behave responsibly when they're using our system too.
"So making sure that paddles are put down after they've used them, reporting any issues that they come across where they think water is leaking so that we can respond to, we're all in this together."
Severn Trent and the Environment Agency have also reminded people to use water 'wisely' while the drought conditions continue.