File:Stourbridge Canal empty below Lock No 17 at Stourton, Staffordshire - geograph.org.uk - 971849.jpg

English: Stourbridge Canal empty below Lock No 17 at Stourton, Staffordshire This is the canal in the pound above Lock No 18, the third one up of the Stourton four. Following the collapse of the embankment just over a mile to the east on the night of September 7th, the canal has drained out. Heavy rain, often continuous, through the summer weakened the embankment, and according to one stranded boatman, the water was six inches above the tow path before the breach, and within twenty minutes or so the canal was empty and he was on the bottom. Now, nearly a fortnight later, BWB have plans to pump water into the canal below Middle Bridge (SO874689) on Monday September 22nd. This will enable all boats stranded in the pound above Lock 17 to exit down the Stourton Locks, and allow the boatyard just east of here to resume some activity.