IRRIGATION PROJECTS AND CANALS

IRRIGATION

Irrigation is the application of controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals.

Irrigation helps to grow agricultural crops, maintain landscapes, and revegetate disturbed
soils in dry areas and during periods of less than average rainfall. Irrigation also has other
uses in crop production, including frost protection, suppressing weed growth in grain
fields and preventing soil consolidation. In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct
rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming.

Irrigation systems are also used for cooling livestock, dust suppression, disposal
of sewage, and in mining. Irrigation is often studied together with drainage, which is the
removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area.

Irrigation has been a central feature of agriculture for over 5,000 years and is the product
of many cultures. Historically, it was the basis for economies and societies across the
globe, from Asia to the Southwestern United States.

Irrigation is the artificial application of water to land for the purpose of agricultural
production. Effective irrigation will influence the entire growth process from seedbed
preparation, germination, root growth, nutrient utilization, plant growth and regrowth,
yield and quality.

The key to maximizing irrigation efforts is uniformity. The producer has a lot of control
over how much water to supply and when to apply it but the irrigation system
determines uniformity. Deciding which irrigation systems is best for your operation
requires a knowledge of equipment, system design, plant species, growth stage, root
structure, soil composition, and land formation. Irrigation systems should encourage
plant growth while minimizing salt imbalances, leaf burns, soil erosion, and water loss.
Losses of water will occur due to evaporation, wind drift, run-off and water (and
nutrients) sinking deep below the root zone.
 Proper irrigation management takes careful consideration and vigilant observation.

Construction Method of Irrigation Projects

First step in construction of an irrigation project like dams, barrage or weir requires
surveying of whole area. Surveying for an irrigation project is done to understand if the
dams or other irrigation construction is required or not.
The area should benefit to its larger extent when the completion of irrigation structure is
done. So, survey is needed to conclude this.

Examine Availability of Water

To construct an irrigation project whether it is a dam or weir or barrage, first and
foremost observation should be the presence of water and its availability.

The availability may be of different types, but proper examination is required before
construction.

Some important observations are:

o If there is any river flowing in that area, we should know the type of river whether it is
perennial or inundation type. If it is perennial, then the water is available throughout the
year. If it is Inundation River, then study its previous yearly discharges.

o The river should meet the requirement of water in that area.

o Suitable site be available to construct an irrigation project.

Examine Topography
After investigating the water availability, topography map of the area is studied. This
study is more useful when marking the tentative alignment for irrigation project. The
behavior of agricultural lands are examined in this stage.

Selection of Construction Site

When plenty of water or major source of water is available then the location to construct
an irrigation project is selected. The project may be dam or barrage or weir.

The selection of site is done by considering the following points.

o The soil survey is conducted by boring and pile testing to know about the foundation
depth required.

o Sufficient basin area should be available and the capacity must fulfill the required
demand.
o The site should be easily accessible. Materials and labor should be readily available.

o The allowable bed slope should be maintained as far as possible in the canal.

o The structure should not submerge valuable lands and areas.

River Gauging
River gauging is measuring of water discharge at point. The point in this case where
river gauging is conducted is the site selected for project.

After river gauging following details are obtained:

o The discharge of river is calculated on daily basis and the yearly discharge records are
studied.

o The HFL (high flood level) and LWL (lowest water level) are recorded based on the old
observations.

o To find out the possible silting of river bed, silt analysis is conducted, and manorial
value of fine silt is recorded.
Marking of CCM
CCM is the cultivable command area which is mainly fit for cultivation of crops. The area
under this category should be marked on the topographic map. So, the construction
should not disturb or damage this area and required demand discharge can also be
known.

Marking of Tentative Alignment

After the selection of site for irrigation structure, it is time to select the tentative
alignments for canals or branch canals. These alignments should be marked in
topographical and contour maps.

Marking should be done by following considerations.

o The alignment marked should cover the whole area when it is cut into canal.

o The alignment should minimize the earth filling and cutting costs.

o It should not pass through valuable agricultural lands, religious places etc.

o It should cross rivers, roads, rails etc. perpendicularly.

Reconnaissance Survey of Irrigation Projects
After marking the tentative alignments, then reconnaissance survey is conducted for all
the alignments. This survey provides the following details:
o Nature of ground slope along the alignment.

o Magnetic bearings of lines of the traverse along the alignment are recorded.

o Alignments passing through religious places, valuable lands are eliminated. If they are
unavoidable, they are marked as special areas and suitable compensation is provided.

o Nature of ground up to a distance of 100m on both sides of alignment are noted.

o Alignments cutting the crossings perpendicularly are noted.

o Distances are measured by pacing.

o Past records of floods in that area are noted.

o Suitable cross drainage works should be noted.

o If there is any river across the alignment, the alignment should cut the river across its
shortest width.
Preliminary Survey of Irrigation Projects
After completion of reconnaissance survey, a good alignment is selected, and they are
allowed to conduct preliminary survey.

Following steps are involved in this survey.

o Pillars are constructed on both banks of river and they represent the center line of
irrigation project.

o Similarly pillars are constructed to mark the center lines of head works for both bank
canals.

o Boring is done along the center line of irrigation structure to determine the depth of
foundation.
Final Location Survey
After preliminary survey, most economical alignment among all is selected and final
location survey is conducted. In this final stage following steps are involved:

o Center line of final alignment is marked with pillars and pegs.

o The width of alignment is also marked by the pillars.

o Similarly for the branch canal also, pillars are marked.

o Final Eligible properties for compensation are recorded.
Final Survey Report of Irrigation Project
It is the last stage of the whole process and in this stage a report should be prepared
with the details of final alignment.

Purpose of Irrigation
 to grow more pastures and crops
 to have more flexibility in their systems/operations as the ability to access water at times
when it would otherwise be hard to achieve good plant growth (due to a deficit in soil
moisture) is imperative. Producers can then achieve higher yields and meet
market/seasonal demands especially if rainfall events do no occur.
 to produce higher quality crops/pastures as water stress can dramatically impact on the
quality of farm produce
 to lengthen the growing season (or in starting the season at an earlier time)
 to have 'insurance' against seasonal variability and drought.
 to stock more animals per hectare and practice tighter grazing management due to the
reliability of pasture supply throughout the season
 to maximize benefits of fertilizer applications. Fertilizers need to be 'watered into' the
ground in order to best facilitate plant growth.
 to use areas that would otherwise be 'less productive'. Irrigation can allow farmers to
open up areas of their farms where it would otherwise be 'too dry' to grow
pasture/crops. This also gives them the capability to carry more stock or to conserve
more feed.
 to take advantage of market incentives for unseasonal production
 to have less reliance on supplementary feeding (grain, hay) in grazing operations due to
the more consistent supply & quality of pastures grown under irrigation
 to improve the capital value of their property. Since irrigated land can potentially support
higher crops, pasture and animal production, it is considered more valuable. The value
of the property is also related to the water licensing agreements or 'water right'.
 to cost save/obtain greater returns. The cost benefits from the more effective use of
fertilizers and greater financial benefits as a result of more effective agricultural
productivity (both quality and quantity) and for 'out of season' production are likely.
 Types of Irrigation Systems
There are many different types of irrigation systems, depending on how the water is
distributed throughout the field. Some common types of irrigation systems include:

Surface irrigation
Water is distributed over and across
land by gravity, no mechanical pump
involved. Surface irrigation is the oldest
form of irrigation and has been in use
for thousands of years.
In surface ( flood, or level basin)
irrigation systems, water moves across
the surface of an agricultural lands, in
order to wet it and infiltrate into the soil.
Surface irrigation can be subdivided into
furrow, border strip or basin irrigation. It
is often called flood irrigation when the
irrigation results in flooding or near flooding of the cultivated land. Historically, this has
been the most common method of irrigating agricultural land and is still used in most
parts of the world.

Localized irrigation
Water is distributed under low pressure,
through a piped network and applied to
each plant.

Drip irrigation
A type of localized irrigation in which
drops of water are delivered at or near
the root of plants. In this type of
irrigation, evaporation and runoff are
minimized. Drip (or micro) irrigation,
also known as trickle irrigation, functions
as its name suggests. In this system
water falls drop by drop just at the
position of roots. Water is delivered at or
near the root zone of plants, drop by
drop. This method can be the most water-efficient method of irrigation,[33] if managed
properly, evaporation and runoff are minimized. The field water efficiency of drip
irrigation is typically in the range of 80 to 90 percent when managed correctly.

Sprinkler irrigation
Water is distributed by overhead
high-pressure sprinklers or guns
from a central location in the field
or from sprinklers on moving
platforms. In sprinkler or overhead
irrigation, water is piped to one or
more central locations within the
field and distributed by overhead
high-pressure sprinklers or guns.
A system using sprinklers, sprays,
or guns mounted overhead on permanently installed risers is often referred to as
a solid-set irrigation system. Higher pressure sprinklers that rotate are called rotors and
are driven by a ball drive, gear drive, or impact mechanism. Rotors can be designed to
rotate in a full or partial circle. Guns are similar to rotors, except that they generally
operate at very high pressures of 275 to 900 kPa (40 to 130 psi) and flows of 3 to 76 L/s
(50 to 1200 US gal/min), usually with nozzle diameters in the range of 10 to 50 mm (0.5
to 1.9 in). Guns are used not only for irrigation, but also for industrial applications such
as dust suppression and logging.

Center pivot irrigation

Water is distributed by a system of
sprinklers that move on wheeled towers in a
circular pattern. This system is common in
flat areas of the United States. Center pivot
irrigation is a form of sprinkler irrigation
utilising several segments of pipe (usually
galvanized steel or aluminium) joined
together and supported by trusses, mounted
on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned
along its length.[34] The system moves in a
circular pattern and is fed with water from
the pivot point at the center of the arc. These systems are found and used in all parts of
the world and allow irrigation of all types of terrain. Newer systems have drop sprinkler
heads as shown in the image that follows.
Lateral move irrigation
Water is distributed through a series of
pipes, each with a wheel and a set of
sprinklers, which are rotated either by hand
or with a purpose-built mechanism. The
sprinklers move a certain distance across
the field and then need to have the water
hose reconnected for the next distance. This
system tends to be less expensive but
requires more labor than others. A series of
pipes, each with a wheel of about 1.5 m
diameter permanently affixed to its midpoint, and sprinklers along its length, are coupled
together. Water is supplied at one end using a large hose. After sufficient irrigation has
been applied to one strip of the field, the hose is removed, the water drained from the
system, and the assembly rolled either by hand or with a purpose-built mechanism, so
that the sprinklers are moved to a different position across the field. The hose is
reconnected. The process is repeated in a pattern until the whole field has been
irrigated.

Sub-irrigation
Water is distributed across land by raising
the water table, through a system of
pumping stations, canals, gates, and
ditches. This type of irrigation is most
effective in areas with high water tables.
Subirrigation has been used for many years
in field crops in areas with high water
tables. It is a method of artificially raising
the water table to allow the soil to
be moistened from below the
plants' root zone. Often those systems are
located on permanent grasslands in lowlands or river valleys and combined with
drainage infrastructure. A system of pumping stations, canals, weirs and gates allows it
to increase or decrease the water level in a network of ditches and thereby control the
water table.
Manual irrigation
Water is distributed across land through
manual labor and watering cans. This
system is very labor intensive.

CANALS

Canals, or navigations, are human-made channels, or artificial waterways, for water

conveyance, or to service water transport vehicles. It can be thought as an artificial
version of a river.
In most cases, the engineered works will have a series of dams and locks that
create reservoirs of low speed current flow. These reservoirs are referred to as slack
water levels, often just called levels.
A canal is also known as a navigation when it parallels a river and shares part of its
waters and drainage basin, and leverages its resources by building dams and locks to
increase and lengthen its stretches of slack water levels while staying in its valley.
In contrast, a canal cuts across a drainage divide atop a ridge, generally requiring an
external water source above the highest elevation.
Many canals have been built at elevations towering over valleys and other water ways
crossing far below.
Canals with sources of water at a higher level can deliver water to a destination such as
a city where water is needed. The Roman Empire's aqueducts were such water
supply canals.

Types of canals
There are two broad types of canal:

 Waterways: canals and navigations

used for carrying vessels transporting
goods and people. These can be
subdivided into two kinds:

 Those connecting existing lakes, rivers,

other canals or seas and oceans.
 Those connected in a city network: such
as the Canal Grande and others
of Venice Italy; the gracht of Amsterdam,
and the waterways of Bangkok.

 Aqueducts: water supply canals

that are used for the conveyance and
delivery of potable water for human
consumption, municipal uses, hydro
power canals and agriculture irrigation.
Panama Canal

The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an artificial 82 km (51 mi) waterway
in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts
across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. Canal locks are at
each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount
of excavation work required for the canal, 26 m (85 ft) above sea level, and then lower
the ships at the other end. The original locks are 34 m (110 ft) wide. A third, wider lane
of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded canal
began commercial operation on June 26, 2016. The new locks allow transit of
larger, post-Panamax ships, capable of handling more cargo.[1]
France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped due to engineering problems and
a high worker mortality rate. The United States took over the project in 1904 and
opened the canal on August 15, 1914. One of the largest and most difficult engineering
projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduced the time for ships
to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy,
hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via
the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan.
Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the
canal during construction. The US continued to control the canal and
surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for
handover to Panama. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, in 1999, the
canal was taken over by the Panamanian government. It is now managed and operated
by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority.
Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the canal opened, to
14,702 vessels in 2008, for a total of 333.7 million Panama Canal/Universal
Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons. By 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed
through the canal.[2] It takes 11.38 hours to pass through the Panama
Canal.[3] The American Society of Civil Engineers has ranked the Panama Canal one of
the seven wonders of the modern world.

Construction process of Panama Canal

For many years, American and British leaders tried to find a quick and cheap way to
ship goods between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The idea to build the Panama
canalcame from Vasco Núñez when he discovered the narrow land bridge Isthmus. This
patch of land surrounds the now Panama Canal, a passage of water linking the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans. Throughout the 1800s there were many attempts to build a canal
connecting these two points, but most failed dramatically.

Ferdinand de Lesseps

Construction of the Panama Canal. Photo credit: shutterstock

In 1805 Great Britain and the United States negotiated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty to see
who would have rights to the proposed Anglo-American Canal. The plan was to run the
canal through Nicaragua, however, the proposed canal never got past the planning
stages. It wasn’t until 1880 when the French leader Ferdinand de Lesseps, the builder
of the Suez Canal in Egypt, began excavations, that there was any sign a canal would
come to be. Unfortunately, fate was not on his side. Ferdinand and his crew faced many
tropical diseases such as Yellow Fever and Malaria, and after 9 years had lost over
22,000 men. After this horrific ordeal, the French project went bankrupt and building
ceased.
President Roosevelt

Workers constructing the Panama Canal. Photo credit: shutterstock

With the French facing a huge debt with nowhere to turn, it was President Roosevelt
that offered them a solution. After much debate in the United States about the location
of the proposed canal, it was Roosevelt that pushed through the land in Panama that
the French has previously been working on. In June 1902, the Spooner Act was signed,
and the US purchased the land in Panama from the French for $40 million.
President Roosevelt discussing about the Panama Canal. Photo credit:
shutterstock
At the time of purchase Panama was part of Columbia, so Roosevelt began
negotiations with the Columbians to obtain the rights to build the canal. However,
Roosevelt has no luck in his endeavors until Panama won its independence from
Columbia on the 3rd of November, 1903. After this time, the Panamanians handed over
control of the Panama Canal Zone to the United States for the healthy sum of $10
million, plus an annual annuity of $250,000. On the 18th of November that same year,
the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed, and the US began work on the Panama
Canal.

The United State’s plan was to adopt a stratified workforce, with high-level skilled labor
jobs going to white Americans, and the low-level manual labor jobs being given to
cheap immigrant workers. They initially chose workers from Spain, Greece and Italy,
however, most of these workers were radical militants and were eventually replaced by
a British and French workforce.

George Washington
After all the preparation and mending of the leftover French equipment was
complete, George Washington Goethals took over the construction of the canal. He
divided the work into three major divisions: Atlantic, Central and Pacific. The work in the
Atlantic division was overseen by William L. Sibert, the Central by David du Bose Gillard
and the Pacific by Sydney B.Williamson.
Ships moves through the Miraflores Lock of Panama Canal. Photo credit:
shutterstock
By 1907, 1 million cubic yards of land were being excavated per month, and at the peak
of production a whopping 3 million cubic yards were being moved. Four dams were also
being constructed during this time, with lengths between 150m and 2,300 meters, to
create the all important Gatun and Miraflores Lakes. The next step in this mammoth
construction was the locks. The first lock was built on August 24, 1909 in Gatun. The
locks were each made of over 1 million cubic meters of solid concrete, a huge feat at
the time of construction.

Opening of The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal – connection two oceans. Photo credit: shutterstock
Finally, on October 10, 1913, the temporary dike at Gamboa was demolished,
officially opening the Panama Canal. The very first ship to sail down the canal was the
Alexandre La Valley, an old crane boat from France that was slowly working its way
across the Atlantic-Pacific divide during the final stages of construction.

The Panama Canal was an extremely important asset to the United States, both
strategically and economically. The canal rendered the Drake Passage and Cape
Hornuseless, and cut 7,800 miles off the important shipping route from New York to San
Fransisco. A total of 75,000 people worked on the construction of the Panama Canal,
and over $375 million was spent to bring this technological marvel to life.

The Panama Canal, the connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, is one
of the highlight of Panama. Enjoy the remarkable environment of Panama without the
hoards of tourists. Explore the rest of Central America during one of our
amazing Central America Tours.

With the canal ready to open, an April 1914 executive order abolished the ICC and
established the Panama Canal with George W. Goethals as the first governor of the
Canal Zone. Although the start of the war in Europe overshadowed it, the canal officially
opened on 15 August 1914 when the liner Ancon passed from the Atlantic to the Pacific
side. While most of the Army engineers who had worked on the canal were there in
1914, one was missing. Lieutenant Colonel David DuBose Gaillard left Panama in 1913
to seek medical attention in the United States. He died in Baltimore on 5 December
1913 of a brain tumor, and in April 1915 President Woodrow Wilson renamed Culebra
Cut as Gaillard Cut in his honor.

There were rewards and honors for all for completing the canal, highlighted by the
March 1915 promotions of George W. Goethals and Harry F. Hodges to major general
and William Sibert to brigadier general. The completion of the Canal in 1914 made
Goethals an American hero and international celebrity. After serving as the Canal
Zone's first governor, he retired in 1916 as a major general. He returned to active duty
during World War I, at which time he became acting quartermaster general and head
of the War Department's Division of Purchase, Storage, and Traffic, in which capacities
the hard-driving Goethals performed logistical miracles. Returning to civilian life he
served as consulting engineer for a number of important operations, including the Port
Authority of New York.

America celebrated the opening of the canal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in
San Francisco. The event marked both the triumph of the waterway's engineering and
the emergence of modern San Francisco newly rebuilt after the devastating 1906
earthquake and fire. The fair attracted more than 18 million people during its eleven-
month run.
Suez Canal

The Suez Canal (Arabic: ‫ قناة السويس‬qanāt as-suwēs) is a sea-level waterway in Egypt,
connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez.
Constructed by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and 1869, it was officially
opened on 17 November 1869. The canal offers watercraft a more direct route between
the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean and Red seas, thus
avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and thereby reducing the
journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London, for example, by approximately 8,900
kilometres (5,500 mi).[1] It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the
southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. Its length is 193.30 km (120.11 mi),
including its northern and southern access channels. In 2012, 17,225 vessels traversed
the canal (an average of 47 per day).[2]
The original canal was a single-lane waterway with passing locations in the Ballah
Bypass and the Great Bitter Lake.[3] It contains no locks system, with seawater flowing
freely through it. In general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and
south in summer. South of the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez.[4]
The Canal was owned by the United Kingdom and France until 1956 when Gamal Abdel
Nasser nationalized it, an event which led to the Suez Crisis.[5] The canal is owned and
maintained by the Suez Canal Authority[6] (SCA) of Egypt. Under the Convention of
Constantinople, it may be used "in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of
commerce or of war, without distinction of flag".[7]
In August 2014, construction was launched to expand and widen the Ballah Bypass for
35 km (22 mi) to speed the canal's transit time. The expansion was planned to nearly
double the capacity of the Suez Canal from 49 to 97 ships a day. [8] At a cost of $8.4
billion, this project was funded with interest-bearing investment certificates issued
exclusively to Egyptian entities and individuals. The "New Suez Canal", as the
expansion was dubbed, was opened with great fanfare in a ceremony on 6 August
2015.[9]
On 24 February 2016, the Suez Canal Authority officially opened the new side channel.
This side channel, located at the northern side of the east extension of the Suez Canal,
serves the East Terminal for berthing and unberthing vessels from the terminal. As the
East Container Terminal is located on the Canal itself, before the construction of the
new side channel it was not possible to berth or unberth vessels at the terminal while
the convoy was running.

Construction by the Suez Canal Company

Suez Canal, 1869

Preparations (1854–1858)
In 1854 and 1856, Ferdinand de Lesseps obtained a concession from Sa'id Pasha,
the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, to create a company to construct a canal open to
ships of all nations. The company was to operate the canal for 99 years from its
opening. De Lesseps had used his friendly relationship with Sa'id, which he had
developed while he was a French diplomat in the 1830s. As stipulated in the
concessions, Ferdinand convened the International Commission for the piercing of the
isthmus of Suez (Commission Internationale pour le percement de l'isthme des Suez)
consisting of 13 experts from seven countries, among them John Robinson McClean,
later President of the Institution of Civil Engineers in London, and again Negrelli, to
examine the plans developed by Linant de Bellefonds, and to advise on the feasibility of
and the best route for the canal. After surveys and analyses in Egypt and discussions in
Paris on various aspects of the canal, where many of Negrelli's ideas prevailed, the
commission produced a unanimous report in December 1856 containing a detailed
description of the canal complete with plans and profiles.[50] The Suez Canal Company
(Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez) came into being on 15 December
1858.
Construction (1859–1869)
Work started on the shore of the future Port Said on 25 April 1859.

1881 drawing of the Suez Canal

The excavation took some 10 years using forced labour (corvée) of Egyptian workers
during the first years. Some sources estimate that over 30,000 people were working on
the canal at any given period, that more than 1.5 million people from various countries
were employed, and that thousands of labourers died, many of them from cholera and
similar epidemics.
The British government had opposed the project from the outset to its completion. As
one of the diplomatic moves against the canal, it disapproved of the use of "slave
labour" of forced workers. The British Empire was the major global naval force and
officially condemned the forced work and sent armed Bedouins to start a revolt among
workers. Involuntary labour on the project ceased, and the viceroy condemned the
corvée, halting the project.
Angered by the British opportunism, de Lesseps sent a letter to the British government
remarking on the British lack of remorse a few years earlier when forced workers died in
similar conditions building the British railway in Egypt.
Initially international opinion was skeptical and Suez Canal Company shares did not sell
well overseas. Britain, Austria, and Russia did not buy a significant number of shares.
However, with assistance from the Cattaui banking family, and their relationship
with James de Rothschild of the French House of Rothschild bonds and shares were
successfully promoted in France and other parts of Europe. All French shares were
quickly sold in France. A contemporary British skeptic claimed "One thing is sure... our
local merchant community doesn't pay practical attention at all to this grand work, and it
is legitimate to doubt that the canal's receipts... could ever be sufficient to recover its
maintenance fee. It will never become a large ship's accessible way in any case." [55]
Inauguration (17 November 1869)

Suez Canal, Egypt. early 1900s. Goodyear Archival Collection. Brooklyn Museum
The canal opened under French control on 17 November 1869. The opening was
performed by Khedive Isma'il Pasha of Egypt and Sudan, and at Ismail's
invitation French Empress Eugenie in the Imperial yacht L'Aigle piloted by Napoléon
Coste, upon whom the Khedivebestowed the Ottoman Order of the Medjidie.
Although L'Aigle was officially the first vessel through the canal, HMS Newport,
captained by George Nares, passed through it first. On the night before the canal was
due to open, Captain Nares navigated his vessel, in total darkness and without lights,
through the mass of waiting ships until it was in front of L'Aigle. When dawn broke, the
French were horrified to find that the Royal Navy was first in line and that it would be
impossible to pass them. Nares received both an official reprimand and an unofficial
vote of thanks from the Admiralty for his actions in promoting British interests and for
demonstrating such superb seamanship.
An Anchor Line ship, the S.S. Dido, became the first to pass through the Canal from
South to North.
The first ship to follow L'Aigle through the canal was the British P&O liner Delta. Fourth
ship through the canal was the Swedish steam frigate Vanadis.
Initial difficulties (1869–1871)
Although numerous technical, political, and financial problems had been overcome,
the final cost was more than double the original estimate.
The Khedive, in particular, was able to overcome initial reservations held by both British
and French creditors by enlisting the help of the Sursock family, whose deep
connections proved invaluable in securing much international support for the project.
After the opening, the Suez Canal Company was in financial difficulties. The remaining
works were completed only in 1871, and traffic was below expectations in the first two
years. De Lesseps therefore tried to increase revenues by interpreting the kind of net
ton referred to in the second concession (tonneau de capacité) as meaning a ship's
cargo capacity and not only the theoretical net tonnage of the "Moorsom System"
introduced in Britain by the Merchant Shipping Act in 1854. The ensuing commercial
and diplomatic activities resulted in the International Commission of Constantinople
establishing a specific kind of net tonnage and settling the question of tariffs in its
protocol of 18 December 1873.[64] This was the origin of the Suez Canal Net
Tonnage and the Suez Canal Special Tonnage Certificate, both of which are still in use
today.

Difference between Panama Canal and Suez Canal

The comparison between the Suez Canal and Panama Canal is that they are both man
made passage ways that provide a shortcut for ships to go from one large body of water
to another thereby saving trillions of dollars. The Suez canal is a sea level cut through
the desert with a continous maintenance issue of sand dredging. The Panama Canal is
a cut through mountainous tropical territory requiring locks to raise ships over the
mountains. As a result the Panama Canal is a fresh water passage way with a man
made lake (Gatun) feeding water down each side to the sea. The lake is possible
because of the high annual rainfall in Panama. The use of locks limits the size of ships
that can use the canal. Since the canal was built in 1904 by the U. S. Corps of
Engineers it was sized to allow passage of the largest U. S. Naval vessels (battleships).
The later day super sized oil tankers were unable to use the canal. To ward off the
possibility of a competing canal (sea level through Nicaragua?) Panama has completed
a canal expansion and can now handle all ships except the super aircraft carriers with
their excessive overhangs. (P.S. Construction of a sea level through Nicaragua is highly
unlikely because the great lake there is fresh water and the introduction of sea water
would kill most of the indigenous life forms.)
o The Suez route is well-supplied with coaling stations, etc., as there are plenty of
islands and other points of call. The Panama route suffers for want of enough
islands and halting stations as the Pacific is a dreary ocean with little commerce.

o Coal is easily and cheaply available on the Suez route, especially as coal occurs
in many of the areas served by the Suez route.

o The Panama route serves regions which are deficient in coal. It has, however,
considerable amount of oil.

o The Suez route serves some of the most thickly populated areas and carries
therefore a much larger traffic than the Panama route which generally serves
poor mountainous or desert regions like those on the east coast of North America
or South America.

o The Suez Canal is longer, has no locks, and has cost less than the Panama
Canal. It is not so deep, however, the practice of tying up, so annoying in the
case of the Suez, is not necessary in the case of the Panama Canal.
o The Suez Canal dues are higher than those of the Panama Canal.