[Tagging] Irrigation: ditches, canals and drains

[Paul Allen]

On Fri, 31 May 2019 at 01:08, Joseph Eisenberg <joseph.eisenberg at gmail.com>
wrote:

>
> I still feel uncomfortable using the word "canal" for small waterways:
> the basic meaning of the word "canal" seems to imply a navigable
> waterway, just as a "river" is wide enough for a small boat, in
> contrast with a stream, but perhaps this is specific to my dialect?
>

In modern British English, "canal" is usually taken to mean an artificial,
navigable
waterway.  But that was not always the case.  Originally it just meant an
artificial
channel with water in it; the navigable kind, particularly the ones designed
for narrowboats, were called "navigation canals."  They came to dominate
public
discourse to the extent that the general public equated "canal" with the
navigable
kind and forgot about the others.

What all that means for OSM usage is up for (probably endless) discussion.

BTW, if we end up with tagging for the function of artificial waterways, it
would be nice
if it included leats.

-- 
Paul
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