Preserving waterway heritage: challenges and the path forward
Canals and inland waterways are vital components of our built heritage, yet their future faces significant challenges. Historical canals that have endured for centuries are now threatened by lower water levels, which impair navigability, and extreme weather events that lead to slope instabilities, often blocking the passage of vessels and freight. Greece has its own unique story in this regard. The Isthmus of Corinth—a remarkable feat of geotechnical engineering with a history dating back to the 7th century BC—is now under threat from both natural and man-made hazards. The most recent event was a major landslide that occurred in 2021, leading to the Canal’s closure for an estimated four months.
These challenges demand specialized interventions to address not only the physical preservation of these waterways but also their resilience to environmental pressures. Recent restoration efforts at the Corinth Canal, for example, involve advanced stabilization techniques to reinforce the slopes, which are particularly vulnerable to seismic events and ongoing erosion due to their geological composition.
The discussion will continue at the upcoming TC301 conference, to be held in Athens, Greece, in 2026. Among other highlights, the conference will feature a dedicated technical visit to the modern Isthmus of Corinth, along with a tour of the historic Diolkos.
For further insights, explore these detailed papers concerning the landslide risk of the Corinth Canal:
- “The largest ship trackway in ancient times: the Diolkos of the Isthmus of Corinth, Greece, and early attempts to build a canal”, by Walter Werner
- “Analysis of slope instabilities in the Corinth Canal using UAV-enabled mapping”, by C. Saroglou, V. Kallimogiannis, N. Bar, G. Manousakis, D. Zekkos
- “Geotechnical properties of the Corinth Canal marls”, by A.G. Anagnostopoulos, N. Kalteziotis, G.K. Tsiambaos and M. Kavvadas