C&O Canal Mule Drink and Overflow

C & O Canal Mule drink and overflow

Quick Facts

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Managing water levels both during normal canal operations and during floods was and still is a key task. Water for the canal comes in at series of inlet locks. Inlet Lock 1, which is at Lift Lock 5 over the Washington, DC boundary in Maryland, feeds the Georgetown section. Waste Weirs (a gate in the side of the canal) and the lift lock gates can be used used to adjust levels. There are also spillways along the canal, which are also referred to as "mule drinks" that operate like a dam spillway to let water flow out of canal if it is getting to close to the towpath level. Managing a water canal was challenging in 1850 and still is today.