Present
In-filling of much of the canal has taken place in the past 50 years. The northern section was affected by the creation of the A4067 road around Ystradgynlais, while the southern section below Clydach had been infilled by 1982, as part of the work associated with the A4067 dual carriageway. Just five miles (8 km) of the canal remains in water, from Clydach to Pontardawe where it is now a popular trail and is part of route 43 of the National Cycle Network.
The canal empties from an aqueduct into the Lower Clydach River at the point where it joins the River Tawe. A project is underway to dredge the canal and to remove the Japanese knotweed that grows extensively around the Swansea Valley. The canal is an important habitat for water birds and for eels. Local youngsters from Clydach often set up fishing off the banks of the canal to catch the eels.
In 1981, the Swansea Canal Society was formed, and have been working towards restoration of the remaining sections of the canal. They have done much to improve the physical environment of the canal, and have proposed the development of a 35-mile (56 km) cruising route in conjunction with a restored Neath and Tennant Canal.
On 23 October 1998, after heavy rainfall, water levels in the canal rose, and at Pontardawe, spilled over the towpath and down an embankment. The flow caused the bank to fail, and the breach caused extensive flooding. Thirty houses, some industrial units and town centre shops were affected, with the water up to 4 feet (1.2 m) deep in places.
Read more about this topic: Swansea Canal
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“To anticipate, not the sunrise and the dawn merely, but, if possible, Nature herself! How many mornings, summer and winter, before yet any neighbor was stirring about his business, have I been about mine! No doubt, many of my townsmen have met me returning from this enterprise, farmers starting for Boston in the twilight, or woodchoppers going to their work. It is true, I never assisted the sun materially in his rising, but, doubt not, it was of the last importance only to be present at it.”
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