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The Witham Navigable Drains are located in Lincolnshire, England, and are part of a much larger drainage system managed by the Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board. The Witham Fourth District comprises the East Fen and West Fen, to the north of Boston, which together cover an area of . In total there are over of drainage ditches, of which under are navigable. Navigation is normally only possible in the summer months, as the drains are maintained at a lower level in winter, and are subject to sudden changes in level as a result of their primary drainage function, which can leave boats stranded. Access to the drains is from the River Witham at Anton's Gowt Lock. The area is bounded by the River Witham to the south and west, and the Steeping River to the north. Since the 11th century, there have been attempts to prevent the fens from flooding, so that they could be used for agriculture. A major advance was made in the seventeenth century, when Adventurers built drains in return for rights to some of the reclaimed land, but the success was short-lived, as Fenmen and Commoners rioted in 1642 and destroyed the works. Further attempts to drain the fens were made in the eighteenth century, and the first proposals to use the drains for navigation were made in 1779. Most of the drainage ditches that are now evident were constructed under the authority of an Act of Parliament obtained in 1801. The plans for the scheme were drawn up by the civil engineer John Rennie. Better drainage was achieved from the 1860s, with the building of steam pumping stations. The steam engines were later replaced by diesel engines, and now many of them use electric pumps. Sensitive restoration of some of the pumping stations in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in the Witham Fourth District IDB being given a Design Award. There were originally five locks on the system, including Anton's Gowt Lock. Cowbridge Lock is the only other one still operational. Access by boat to Cowbridge Drain and Hobhole Drain which drain the East Fen is no longer possible, because East Fen Lock, which connected Cowbridge Drain to the rest of the system has been filled in, while the lock chamber at Lade Bank Pumping Station has been reused to house extra pumps. Many of the structures built as part of Rennie's upgrade in the early 1800s survive in near-original condition, and are Grade II listed. ==Geography== The area in which the drains lie is fenland, most of it at about sea level, and is bounded to the south west by the River Witham and to the south east by a low silt ridge of marine origin which separates it from The Wash. The northern boundary is defined by Coningsby to the north west, Spilsby and the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds to the north, and Wainfleet and the Steeping River to the north east.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Activities )〕 It is divided into the East Fen and the West Fen, separated by a strip of higher ground, some long and wide, on which are situated the villages of Stickford, Stickney and Sibsey. The A16 road follows this higher ground,〔Ordnance Survey, 1:50,000 map〕 which is glacial in origin. Historically, the south western section of the West Fen close to the River Witham was called the Wildmore Fen, but hydraulically, they form a single fen. In total, the fens occupy an area of around . Most of the fens were extra-parochial, consisting of a huge common, on which people from the surrounding villages had grazing rights. These could only be exercised in summer, as prior to drainage works being carried out, the East Fen drained northwards to the Steeping River, and during the winter months, most of that river discharged into the fen, causing widespread flooding. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Witham Navigable Drains」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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