The canals routes find their way through an ancient valley about 2 km wide, surrounded by steep edges: The area was created about 12,000 years ago by a divide between the basins of Oder and Vistula rivers.

Its path ran from the Noteć river at the level of Dębinek hamlet to the Bydgoszcz Canal, between the locks of Osowa Góra and Józefinki (near Nakło nad Notecią).

[1] At the time of their inception, these canals brought an economic boost to Kuyavia and Greater Poland areas, by connecting Oder and Vistula through the Noteć river.

In addition, the discontinuation of the systematic dredging and cleaning works in the 1980s amplified their poor condition and impacted negatively the traffic: while about 530 ships sailed through the channels in 1959, there were 360 ones in 1980 and only 12 in 1990.

[1] The new Notecki Canal was established in the 19th century, as a result of many years of work aiming at regulating the water flow in the upper Noteć valley: indeed, before its construction, the uncontrolled river bed winded from Łabiszyn through Brzoza to Rynarzewo in a sweeping arc, regularly flooding the vicinity of its meanders.

[1] Facing the inactivity of the Prussian authorities, Count Fryderyk Skórzewski, owner of the nearby Lubostroń Palace funded the first regulation works on the Noteć river and the supply canal which flowed through his estate.

As a result, in 1825, a narrow ditch bypassed the great bend of the Noteć, closed by two sluices,"Antoniewo" and "Frydrychowo":[3] it was called the "Kanał Łabiszyński" ("Łabiszyn Canal").

[4] In the 1860s and 1870s, the Noteć riverbed was straighten up at the level of Łabiszyn and the upper valley of the river, once considered as very marshy, was gradually drained: peat and swamps eventually gave way to meadows and pastures.

During the reign of king Przemysł II,[6] the canal was used by "Korabnicy", a class of the population in charge of the production of flat-bottomed ship (Polish: korabi) for the benefit of the ducal court.

A renovation program of the water works on the Lower and Upper canalised Noteć river started in 2020: early that year the sluice N.8 at Lisi Ogon was rehabilitated.

The scope of the PLN-2.17-million overhaul comprised, among others, the partial replacement of brick facade in the lock chamber, the repair of the bottom plate, upper and lower gates with manual mechanical drives, the upgrade of platforms and control devices.

This project, with a budget of more than PLN 1.8 million, included replacing the bricks inside the chamber and on the eastern wall, renovating the upper head of the airlock while dismantling the gate drive mechanism.