Haxall Canal to be Drained on Saturday

Don’t panic if the Canal Walk is more of mud ditch walk over the next week. If you head down there you’ll notice most the water drained off. It’s all part of the routine maintenance of the canal and happens on a 10-15 year cycle.

This is just the first step as they evaluate how much muck is in the canal. The next step will remove the muck after of course hiring the professional muck removers. The removal process could take from 2-3 months. While every effort will be made to remove fish there will be the inevitable fish fatality and that combined with standing water could result in unpleasant odors at times.

More from DPU:

The Haxall Canal, which starts from the head gates near the west end of Brown’s Island and extends to the 12th Street level control structure has accumulated large quantities of sediment from the James River and has reached levels that undermine the functionality of the level control structure and head gates, in addition to the aesthetic features the canal provides to the City.

In order to better assess the quantity of sediment requiring removal from the canal, DPU will perform a survey of the canal interior. An aerial survey is the most cost effective and expedient method to obtain the necessary data and requires the water to be drained from the canal in its entirety. Once DPU has compiled this data, it is anticipated a construction contract will be issued to dredge the canal interior, which is expected to take place this coming fall 2018. The dredging operation would require the canal be drained in its entirety for approximately 2-3 months.

The Haxall Canal was previously drained and dredged of sediment in 2008. The City is expected to perform this required maintenance every 10-15 years. In addition to routine dredging maintenance, the Canal is periodically drawn down to lower levels for routine maintenance most often associated with cleaning trash and debris that undermine the functionality of the head gates and level control structure.

DPU staff have worked closely with Venture Richmond to establish the dates necessary for the current drawdown of the canal and will continue to do so in the future. In addition, Game and Inland Fishery staff have been notified of the canal draining and will be on standby to possibly assist with fish trapped in the canal when drained. Unfortunately this is not a finite process and a small number of fish could be killed, odors from stagnant water may be present, and there will be unpleasant aesthetics as a result of an empty canal bed. Public communication is planned and there are no traffic impacts expected at this time