[1] The ensuing legal battle led to an agreement to pump water from the tail race of the tin plate works to a height of 12 feet (3.7 m) back into the canal.

[1] Melingriffith Water Pump was first restored between 1974–89 by the Inland Waterways Association and Oxford House (Risca) Industrial Archaeology Society, with cooperation from Cardiff City Council, and some timber components including the axle were replaced by steel.

The Welsh Development Agency kept the feeder from the weir across the River Taff so the restored water pump could be operated.

Bats roosting in the rocker beams delayed the restoration but the pump ran again on 1 July 2010, now operated by electric power.

The restoration work, costing £100,000 was funded by Cadw and Cardiff Council and was carried out by Penybryn Engineering with project management by Opus International Consultants.

[5] Although the pump was operated regularly for a few years,[3] it has now fallen into disrepair again and since 2016 has not worked, due to a crack in the casting and the need to replace more of the timber spokes than was originally first thought.