[OSM-talk] difference between waterway=canal and waterway=drain

[Richard Fairhurst]

Andy Robinson \(blackadder-lists\) wrote:

> Both are created by man. A canal is normally navigable and a drain is not. A
> canal is for carrying goods and people, a drain is for transporting water
> much like a river but the drain has been dug by man rather than nature.

Indeed.

Sometimes drains, though built principally for irrigation/drainage,  
are later used for navigation as well - in the UK, the Middle Level  
(Cambridgeshire) and Witham Navigable Drains (Lincolnshire) are  
probably the two best examples. I'd tag these as waterway=drain,  
boat=yes.

cheers
Richard