At this meeting it was agreed that the Environment Agency would monitor the sluicegate at Bridge Cottage, Titchfield, controlling the flow of water into the canal more closely during the winter months. This monitoring would try to ensure that the water level in the canal never exceeds the height of the canal bank except during extreme flooding. In the longer term, it was agreed that the Environment Agency would look into the possibility of dredging some of the silt from the Bridge Street end of the canal. At present no funds were availabe for this operation, and in any case it would have to wait until September when access to the site would be easier. This dredging would enable more water to flow down the canal during the summer months when the water is needed to preserve the wetlands of the reserve. It would also increase the capacity of the canal in winter, hopefully preventing the flooding of the footpath. Barry Duffin agreed to try and clear one or two of the trees that had fallen into the canal, with a view to increasing the free flow of water and preventing further silt accumulation. Unfortunately, the HCC nature reserve does not own the canal, only the bank on which the footpath runs.
The cross field path from the canal towards the nurseries on Stubbington Road was also discussed. (Fareham 49) This path appears to be flooded for much longer periods than formerly. The only obvious solution would be for a raised walkway with culverts for floodwaters. At present there are no funds available for this work to be carried out.
It would be appreciated if regular users of this canalside path could monitor the situation and report any problems to Ian Backhouse on ibacky@yahoo.co.uk'