David Edwards-May Impressive progress is being made on the most ambitious waterway restoration project in France, the 270km long river Lot. Although massive hurdles remain to be overcome at the large hydroelectric dams – Fumel, Luzech and Cajarc – the project conceived in 1973 by Christian Bernad, president of the Association Aménagement Vallée du Lot, is moving … Read more
It is sad how ideas conceived with the best of intentions by local politicians sometimes go hopelessly wrong because their implementation is dictated by trends and political expediency. Visiting Chanaz on May 6, I discovered this impressive addition to what is already a superb site, and one of my top 10 waterside villages in France. … Read more
Former IWI president Tom Grasso has been campaigning for eight years to bring back to life the enlarged (1842) Erie Canal in downtown Rochester, NY. The World Canals Conference was held here for the second time in September 2010. ‘The event took us a dramatic and profound step forward in terms of raising awareness of … Read more
Parks Canada’s heritage canals are open as usual this year despite the severe budget cuts imposed on the organization. (post updated by Dave Ballinger on May 21) It was announced by the Minister of the Environment the Hon. Peter Kent on Friday May 18 that the hours of operation for the heritage canals in Canada … Read more
There is much concern in many parts of Europe, and especially on the secondary waterways in France, about maintenance of canal banks and the related issue of dredging. As author of the European Waterways Map & Directory, I adopted for that overview map the classification proposed by PIANC in 1999. This was later endorsed as … Read more
South Korea will soon be celebrating completion of the 19km long Gyeong-In Waterway from the river Han west of the capital Seoul to the Western Sea just north of the port of Incheon. The canal has been in operation for nearly a year, but we have just heard that the official opening ceremony and related … Read more
… and all who use them! Welcome to IWI’s blog! The association, founded in 1995*, aims to raise awareness of the value of navigable rivers and canals in many of the densely-populated regions of the planet. Lobbying for governments’ attention and spending on waterways for moving freight and all their other functions is a constant … Read more
A protest rally of boats was organised at Tupigny and Originy-Saint-Benoite, on the Canal de la Sambre à l’Oise, on April 22-24, to stimulate interest in reopening of this valuable link in the European waterway network. The canal has been closed since 2006 when the 50m long Vadencourt aqueduct presented a risk of failure (photo … Read more
IWI member Danube Propeller took part in the ‘Danube Day’ celebrations in Bezdan (Vojvodina, Serbia) on June 29, 2011 The event brought together seven local associations, all with a keen interest in restoration of the entrance lock to the Danube-Tisa-Danube canal system. Hence the question mark held by one of the Danube Propeller crew on … Read more
The first stop of IWI’s tour of Bohemia and Saxony, on Thursday 7th April, 2011, was half way along the route of the Saale-Elster Canal. For a canal on which works stopped in 1942, the completed part offers all the appeal of a well-maintained inland waterway. See Bohemia/Saxony 2011 Tour