A body of water, such as a
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
,
canalCanals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canal: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.The word...
or
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
, is
navigable if it is deep, wide and slow enough for a
vesselA ship is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public...
to pass and there are no obstructions, like
rocksIn geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
,
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and low
bridgeA bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed.-History:The first...
s. Shallow rivers may be made navigable by the installation of locks that increase and regulate water depth, or by dredging. A very high water speed may also make a
channelIn physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
unnavigable and high-
latitudeLatitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps that run either north or south of the equator...
waters may be unnavigable in winter because of
freezingIn physical science, freezing or solidification is the process in which a liquid turns into a solid when cold enough. The freezing point is the temperature at which this happens. Melting, the process of turning a solid to a liquid, is almost the exact opposite of freezing...
.
A body of water, such as a
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
,
canalCanals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canal: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.The word...
or
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
, is
navigable if it is deep, wide and slow enough for a
vesselA ship is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public...
to pass and there are no obstructions, like
rocksIn geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
,
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and low
bridgeA bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed.-History:The first...
s. Shallow rivers may be made navigable by the installation of locks that increase and regulate water depth, or by dredging. A very high water speed may also make a
channelIn physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
unnavigable and high-
latitudeLatitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps that run either north or south of the equator...
waters may be unnavigable in winter because of
freezingIn physical science, freezing or solidification is the process in which a liquid turns into a solid when cold enough. The freezing point is the temperature at which this happens. Melting, the process of turning a solid to a liquid, is almost the exact opposite of freezing...
. Navigability also depends on the size of the vessel: A small river may not be navigable by a freighter, but it might be navigable by a smaller craft, like a motor boat or
kayakA kayak is a small human-powered boat. It typically has a covered deck, and a cockpit covered by a spraydeck also known as a skirt. The kayak was used by the native Ainu, Aleut and Eskimo hunters in sub-Arctic regions of northeastern Asia, North America and Greenland. It historically was, and...
. Therefore, whether a water body is considered navigable or unnavigable depends on the context.
Inland water transport systems
Inland Water Transport (IWT) Systems have been used since prehistoric times in countries like
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
,
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
and
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
. In modern times, the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
,
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
have developed significant IWT systems. For example, in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, IWT handles 46% of the nation's inland freight; 32% in
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, 14% in the United States, and 9% in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
.
In the United States
Navigable waters of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as defined in 33 CFR 329, are those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce while the waterway is in its ordinary condition. Section 10 of the
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 is the oldest federal environmental law in the United States. The Act makes it a misdemeanor to discharge refuse matter of any kind into the navigable waters, or tributaries thereof, of the United States without a permit; this specific provision is known as the...
(33 U.S.C. 403), approved 3 March 1899, prohibits the unauthorized obstruction of a navigable water of the U.S. This statute also requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for any construction in or over any navigable water, or the excavation or discharge of material into such water, or the accomplishment of any other work affecting the course, location, condition, or capacity of such waters.
Also, the
Clean Water ActThe Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases to water of high amounts of toxic substances, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
use the term "navigable waters," "navigable waters of the United States" and "navigability." to define the limits of the Clean Water Act; currently navigable waters (public) and water with "a significant nexus to navigable waters" is covered under the Clean Water Act. The terms "navigable" and "significant nexus" are still open to judicial interpretation as indicated in two U.S. Supreme Court decisions: "Carabell v. United States" and "
Rapanos v. United StatesRapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 , was a United States Supreme Court case challenging the Clean Water Act. It was the first major environmental case heard by the newly appointed Chief Justice, John Roberts and Associate Justice, Samuel Alito. The Supreme Court heard the case on February 21,...
".
Inland water transport system in India
In
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
there are currently three National Waterways totaling a distance of 2921 km. They are:
- Haldia
Haldia is a city and a municipality in Purba Medinipur in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a major seaport located approximately 50 kilometres southwest of Calcutta near the mouth of the Hooghly River, one of the distributaries of the Ganges...
-AllahabadAllahabad Allahabad Allahabad , is a city in north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and administrative headquarters of Allahabad District. The ancient name of the city is Aggra (Sanskrit for "place of sacrifice") and is believed to be the spot where Brahma offered his first...
stretch of the Ganga-Bhagirathi Hooghly river system (1620 km) in October 1986 as National Waterway 1
- Saidiya Dhubri stretch of the Brahmaputra river
The Brahmaputra, also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia.From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into Arunachal Pradesh where it is...
system (891 km) in September, 1988 as National Waterway 2
- Kollam
Kollam is a city and a municipal corporation in Kollam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It lies 71 Kilometres north of the state capital Thiruvanathapuram . It is also the headquarters of the Kollam District, one among the 14 districts in the state of Kerala...
-KottapuramKottapuram is a common place name in the Indian state of Kerala. The word means 'the place around a Fort' . Since there are many fortresses in Kerala, the state has many places with a similar name. This particular place gets its name from a fort constructed by Portuguese in 1503. only relics of...
(in Kerela) stretch of West Coast Canal (410 km) along with Champakara canal and Udyogmandal canal in February, 1993 as National Waterway 3
It is estimated that the total navigable length of inland waterways is 14500 km. A total of 16 million tonnes of freight is moved by this mode of transport.
Advantages of inland water transport systems
Waterways provide enormous advantages as a mode of transport compared to land and air modes of transports.
- Cheaper capital cost - Nature has already done the initial engineering work for the transportation infrastructure. Thanks to this gift of nature, the cost of developing an inland waterway is 5-10% of the cost developing an equivalent railway or a 4-lane expressway.
- Cheaper maintenance cost - The maintenance cost of an inland waterway is only 20% of the maintenance cost of an equivalent roadway.
- Greater fuel efficiency (low cost of transportation) - It is estimated that 1 liter of fuel can move 105 ton-km by inland water transport. Whereas the same amount of fuel can move only 85 ton-km by rail and 24 ton-km by road. By air, it is even less.
- Easy integration with sea transport - Inland water transport can easily integrated with Sea transport and hence it reduces the extra cost required for land-sea or air-sea transport interface infrastructure development. It also reduces the time taken to transfer the goods to and from sea transport vessels.
Disadvantages of inland water transport systems
- Low availability of inland waterways - As mentioned above, there are numerous criteria for a water body to be navigable. Out of the total inland water body available in the world, only very low percent of it is potentially navigable.
- Low speed - Water transport as a whole is much slower than its road, rail, or air competitors.
See also
- Inland Waterways Association
The Inland Waterways Association was formed in 1946 as a registered charity in the United Kingdom to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations. Notable founding members...
, UK
- Inland Waterways Association of Ireland
The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland Cumann Uiscebhealaigh Intíre na hÉireann is a registered charity and a limited company in the Republic of Ireland and also operates in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1954 to campaign for the conservation and development of the waterways and their...
- Inland waterways of India
India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways, which consists of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers , the Brahmaputra, the Barak river, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari - Krishna rivers. About 44 million tones of cargo...
- Inland waters of Azerbaijan
- Inland harbor
An inland harbor is a harbor that is quite far away from the ocean or sea, such as Berlin, Germany or Paris, France. Inland harbours are connected to a large body of water by an important river or canal passing near the center of the city....
- Inside Passage
The Inside Passage of the Alaska Panhandle and coastal British Columbia is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a series of passages between the mainland and the coastal islands. Ships using the route can avoid some of the bad weather in the open ocean, and visit the many isolated...
- Inland Sea
Formally named the , the Inland Sea is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the main islands of Japan. It serves as an international waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Bay and provides a sea transport link to industrial...