DOG owners and other visitors to Basingstoke Canal are being urged to take extra care as water levels continue to fall this summer.

Basingstoke Canal Authority is advising visitors to not stir up mud in the canal as it reduces oxygen levels for fish and other wildlife.

Visitors are also being urged to keep dogs under close control or on a lead as they could get trapped in the mud.

The canal authority has already closed the stretch between Aldershot and Brookwood to boats due to a severe fall in water levels.

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However, the water levels in the top canal pound, from Ash through to Odiham, allow navigation to continue.

Ken Sankey, director of the Basingstoke Canal Society, said the John Pinkerton 50-passenger trip boat - which operates from Odiham - continues to be in operation despite the dry conditions.

He said: “It is operated by volunteers with profits being used to support the canal. The lower pounds of the canal including Woking, and our 12-passenger trip boat, also continue.

“However clearly the severe hot weather conditions are impacting the canal. There is also concern for the impact on wildlife. This is a similar concern to other rivers and canals across the country.”

Surrey county councillor Marisa Heath, who is the chair of the joint management committee that oversees the running of the canal, said: “After one of the driest periods for over a century, parts of Basingstoke Canal are now experiencing significant water shortages, especially the sections between Aldershot and Brookwood.

“We want to ensure that visitors to the canal are aware of the impacts of this drought, and take extra care where necessary. This will allow everyone to continue to enjoy the benefits of this outdoor attraction safely, whilst helping us to safeguard the wide variety of wildlife that rely on the canal.”

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Following are the guidance given by the canal authority to visitors:

  • Please keep to the towpath and off the beaches forming at the side of the canal – avoid the margins, which can be deceptively muddy in some areas, and this also helps to protect wildlife
  • Please keep dogs under close control or on a lead – wildfowl have a smaller area to take shelter if startled, and your dog could become trapped in the mud.
  • Keep yourself and dogs out of the water: Stirring up mud reduces oxygen levels for fish and other wildlife. There may be hidden objects much closer to the surface than normal. Water can appear much deeper than it is posing a risk of injury. Warm conditions promote the growth of algae – this could be dangerous to your dog.