Diary of a winter stoppage

Article published autumn 2006

Mike Wheeler is BW’s waterway supervisor for the Lower Lee. Having been in his role for three years now, Mike is about to begin his first ever stoppage.

Waterscape.com’s Kirsty Dobson caught up with Mike before his stoppage began to see how he was feeling. We will be catching up with Mike again in a couple of weeks to see how it is all going.

Where is the stoppage being held and what type of work will be taking place?
The stoppage will be taking place at Picketts Lock on the River Lee and we will be replacing both the top and bottom gates. We will also be renewing the cills and refurbishing the ground paddles and the balance beams on the top gates and manufacturing bespoke balance beams on the bottom gates.

When will the work be taking place?
We’re due to start at the beginning of November and it should take approximately four weeks.

So why do you need to do this work ?
The gates are old and leaky so they really are in need of replacing. There is also a blow on the cills, which basically means that there is water blowing through a hole in the cill or gates.

How are you feeling about the project?
At the moment I’m feeling very apprehensive – it’s my first stoppage as a Supervisor so I want to make sure everything goes smoothly. I have worked on over a dozen stoppages as a waterway operative, but this time it will be different for me.

How much inconvenience will this stoppage cause to the boaters on the Lee?
We have chosen to do the work at this time of year purely to reduce the impact to boaters as there is less traffic. Unfortunately, it does mean there will be no passage for boats once the work has started until the stoppage is complete. There will be minimal disruption to other users as the towpath will remain open.

Find out about other stoppages on the River Lee.

See stoppages for other waterways.

Discover more about the River Lee.