I walk past one everyday on the way to work, one day the middle of the locks is full of water, other days it’s not. How do they work? Is someone adjusting them every day or so? How do boats get through?
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I was once allowed to pull the levers for a lock on the Erie Canal. Some old houseboat was passing through.
There’s usually someone on shore who will open the gates as needed via a lever or switch. If the lock is full, the operator can accept a boat from uphill by opening that gate, closing it once the boat is in, and opening the downhill gate to drain the lock. It looks like draining a bathtub. If a lock is empty, the operator can do the same in reverse for a boat on the downhill side. Most of the time, it’s better to leave the lock as-is after a boat passes through. Why waste the water draining or filling it until you know you need to?
In a very small canal or a very remote location, I could imagine a boat operator being forced to tie up their boat and operate a lock themselves.
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