The water point immediately outside the BW office at Fradley Junction is not yet back in action I am afraid. The Elsan disposal point at the same location is seeing much more action now though. This is because some boaters are opting instead to connect their fresh water hoses to the water tap immediately above the trap!
So OK, BW has fixed a sign at this Elsan disposal point to warn users that the water here is not for drinking. However, are BW management really that naive that they do not expect boaters to take water from here in the circumstances? There is another BW water point located one lock up and around the junction on the Coventry Canal BW has argued.
Most boaters navigating just the Trent & Mersey must surely consider accessing this water point on the Coventry Canal one hell of an inconvenience. Human nature is such that some, due to ignorance or a relatively care-free approach to their health (and that of others), will rank the risk of a dose of Gastroenteritis (or something even worse) as ‘low’. Ergo, they will take water from this Elsan disposal point instead of subjecting themselves to the boating equivalent of a ‘log jam’ that usually occurs at this junction on a daily basis throughout the boating season.
BW has a duty of care regarding the health and safety of the boater and others using the waterways. We all (I propose) know what BW should be doing without further delay , i.e. they should be channelling more effort and resources into repairing the wall that has collapsed so that the proper water point can be put back into use. I wonder if the Health & Safety Executive would hold a similar view whilst enforcing the requirements of the Health & Safety at Work Act and the associated regulations?
Hi Brian – thanks for your comment and yes, you could well be right.
I have not informed BW about this misuse of the Elsan disposal directly yet, but they might pick up my observation from this website or a link to it. Clearly BW closure of this Elsan disposal point would be another major hindrance to the boaters in this area and those passing through. I propose that any such move on the part of BW though would probably escalate the pressure on them to do what they should be doing, i.e. fixing the wall and in so doing rendering the proper water point usable again.
I could keep my gob shut, but I really do feel compelled to blog about this H & S issue and for that matter other BW shortcomings.
Cheers, Chris.
If you suggest to BW that using the tap at the sani station is a H&S problem, they will probably issolate it so it can’t be used.
Brian
http://nbharnser.blogspot.com/