above Verner's Bridge, some below the original confluence. This had the advantage that under flood conditions, the water level in the Blackwater was from lower than that further upstream. The channel below Verner's Bridge was also considerably wider, and so could better cope with the volumes of water discharged by the two tributaries. The project took eleven years to complete, by which time costs had overrun by £50,000. The government were approached to make up the shortfall, and did so. When the scheme began, there was to be a single controlling authority to maintain the works, with the more profitable Lower Bann helping to fund the less profitable Blackwater and Upper Bann. However, by the time it was completed, three separate and independent trusts were set up. The Upper Bann and the Blackwater were managed by the Upper Bann Navigation Trust. The counties to the south of Lough Neagh were expected to fund their part of the drainage and navigation works, and to contribute £800 per year towards the running of the Trust, with no income to meet this figure. The Lower Bann Navigation Trust and the Lough Neagh Drainage Trust were wound up in 1929, with their responsibilities passing to the Ministry of Finance, but despite vigorous campaigning by the counties supporting the Upper Bann Navigation Trust, the government refused to disband it, and it continued to be funded until 1954, when the Ministry of Commerce took over the waterways and effectively closed them. See also List of rivers of Northern Ireland Bibliography References Rivers of County Armagh Rivers of County Tyrone International rivers of Europe Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border