"We are again in the midst of troubles" (Floods - Ch4)

CHAPTER 4
SUSTAINABILITY: CASE STUDIES

Particular locations along the C&O Canal have demonstrated a pronounced vulnerability to floods during its history. This vulnerability was a consequence of design choices made by the canal company, and the geography of certain locations along the Potomac. Two of the most notorious trouble spots are Widewater (between Great Falls and Old Angler's Inn), and a section of canal opposite Harpers Ferry, W.Va., at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. Historically, high water plagued the canal in these locations, and despite determined preventive action by the C&O Canal Company, the B&O Railroad, and the National Park Service, there only has been limited success in minimizing flood damage at both these places. They represent two of the greatest challenges in making the canal sustainable--locations where engineering has repeatedly failed to protect the canal from the river...