Traffic on the canal was never particularly heavy, for even in October 1821, when the canal was most prosperous, there were only about nine laden boats per day using it. Despite this, water supply was a regular problem. When first built, the canal was supplied by a reservoir at Shipley, constructed by building a dam across the valley at the end of the canal. The resultant lake provided an attractive feature for Shipley Hall, but flooded the coach road which provided access to it, and so a new bridge and road across the top of the dam were constructed. The reservoir was further topped up by a feeder from the stream above Hawley's Pond.