An investigation by The House magazine reveals that a lack of funding combined with intensifying climate impacts may leave entire towns and villages vulnerable to flooding, particularly as extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity.

The Canal and River Trust (CRT), which oversees the majority of the UK's inland waterways, currently receives about a quarter of its funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). But that support is under threat, with further cuts expected in June's public spending review.

The CRT is already facing a substantial reduction in its core government grant — hundreds of millions less in support until 2037 — and campaigners say this shortfall puts the future of the entire network at risk.

When properly maintained, Britain's canals provide vital environmental, social and safety benefits. As well as offering habitats for species like otters, kingfishers and dragonflies, they serve millions of barge users, cyclists and walkers. The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) once described the country's canal system as a "linear national park" in its Waterways in Progress report from 2019.

However, the charity's most recent annual report warns that climate-related damage is already taking a toll on the country's canals, weirs and reservoirs. After a long, dry summer in 2022, a series of powerful winter storms inflicted over £9 million in emergency damage, the CRT says.

The Trust's finances reflect growing strain. In 2023-24, it reported £237.3 million in income, but £252.4 million in expenses — a shortfall that is becoming harder to cover as infrastructure ages and the climate crisis intensifies.

The threat is not hypothetical. In 2019, part of the dam spillway at Toddbrook Reservoir in Derbyshire collapsed after heavy rainfall, triggering the emergency evacuation of more than 1,500 residents in Whaley Bridge. RAF helicopters dropped sandbags and emergency workers pumped water from the reservoir to prevent a complete structural failure.

"The potential consequences were terrifying," said Charlie Norman, director of campaigns and public affairs at the IWA. "The water held in that reservoir was equivalent to 551 Olympic swimming pools — or enough to meet the daily water needs of 8.6 million people. That kind of volume is unimaginably powerful, and a failure would have put lives directly at risk."

For the first time, the IWA has now issued a formal warning about the potential for loss of life if canal infrastructure is not properly maintained. "It is remarkable, even miraculous, that there hasn't already been a fatal incident," the group said in a statement. "Maintenance costs are already high even when things go right — but failure to act now will lead to much greater costs, including possibly human lives."

Richard Parry, chief executive of the CRT, said that without additional funding, some canals could deteriorate to the point of drying up — a scenario that poses environmental and safety risks.

"If we don't find a solution, the ecological damage would be serious, but it could also lead to structural failures," Parry said. "Dry canal walls can collapse. That's a real safety concern."

A Defra spokesperson responded: "Our canals provide a wide range of benefits, such as connecting people to nature. That is why we are providing more than £500 million of grant funding to the Canal and River Trust between now and 2037."