The Canal de Marseille (; ) is a major source of

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

for all of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, the largest city in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

, along its main artery, is long and has additional of minor arteries. Its construction lasted 15 years and was directed by the engineer Franz Mayor de Montricher. The canal became functional on July 8, 1849. The canal was a significant achievement of 19th-century engineering, combining bridges, tunnels and reservoirs over mountainous terrain. Until 1970, it was almost the sole water source for Marseille, and it still provides two-thirds of the city's

History

Marseille is along the hilly

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

seafront and is crossed only by the irregular

Huveaune The Huveaune (; ) is a small river in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. It is long and flows through the communes of La Penne-sur-Huveaune, Nans-les-Pins, Saint-Zacharie, Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume, Auriol, Roquevaire, ...

River and its tributary, the Jarret River. The waters were canalised in the 14th century but gradually became an open sewer. Water quality continued to decline, and distribution suffered because of the lack of maintenance of the network. Since the river has only a small flow, droughts were devastating to the region. In 1834, the river nearly dried up completely, and only was available per person per day. In the 1830s, Marseille began to experience rapid population growth and an epidemic in 1832 to 1835 of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

convinced the elected officials to act to restore health and to ensure enough water for the city. Durance near Manosque

This cholera epidemic caused the death of 100,000 people throughout France. Originally from Asia, the disease spread along the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

Valley in 1826 and the

Caspian Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea *The Caspian languages spoken in northern Iran and southeastern Azerbaij ...

and

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

in 1829. In 1830, the disease overtook

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and, in 1833,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In March 1832, cholera reached

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and 18,000 died, and the eipedemic killed many people in Haute-Provence. In July 1833, the epidemic reached Marseille. By December 1834, the death toll was 865, and by 1835, it was 2,500. Fears were revived of the Great Plague of Marseille, just over a century earlier, which had caused around 100,000 deaths. In July 1833, a gathering of 30,000 residents in the city centre protested the poor sanitary conditions. Maximin-Dominica Consolat, the city's mayor from 1832 to 1843, decided in 1834 to improve conditions "no matter what it costs." The decision was made to bring in water from the nearest large river, the

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .massif de l'Étoile). The plan was to captured water from high up out of the Durance and gravity feed it over and through the terrain so that water would arrive in Marseille at the highest point of the city, Saint-Antoine (), thus allowing water to serve the whole city.

Construction

The building of the canal took 15 years, from 1839 to 1854, and covered , of which is underground. The canal also crosses 18 bridges. Viaduc de Roquefavour

A major challenge was passing the canal over the valley of the Arc, which has an altitude of less than between

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

and the Etang de Berre. The project's chief engineer, Franz Mayor de Montricher, rejected the proposal of a bridge trap and decided instead to build an aqueduct where the escarpments on both sides of the valley were closest, at . That would become the

Roquefavour Aqueduct The Roquefavour Aqueduct () is an aqueduct in the commune of Ventabren, near Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. The aqueduct was first planned in 1565, but it was not realized until the 19th century. It was designed by Jean François ...

Ventabren Ventabren () is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. Geography The historical village of Ventabren is close to Aix-en-Provence (to the east), away from Coudoux and Vel ...

, inspired by the Roman architectural work Pont du Gard. Since then, the Roquefavour Aqueduct, long, has been regarded as one of the main tourist attractions of Aix-en-Provence. The canal is mostly

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

, but some portions are made of

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

. The canal's flow is per second, and the slope is per . The width at the top is , and the width at the basin is . Water began flowing through the partly-finished canal on November 19, 1849 in Marseille. Between 1854 and 1869, of pipes, tanks and basins were constructed, allowing access to water throughout Marseille and the neighboring communes of

Plan-de-Cuques Plan-de-Cuques (; ) is a commune northeast of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. It is located 9.2 km (5.7 mi) from Marseille. Population The inhabitants are call ...

, Allauch and

Aubagne Aubagne (; according to the classic norm or according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2020, the commune was awarded three flowers by the ...

. Although the population increased over the next 40 years, citizens of Marseille in 1876 had over 30 times more water per capita than they did before the canal opened: for domestic use and for industrial activities, daily.

Through Bouches-du-Rhône

The initial intake of the canal from the

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

at an elevation of and from Marseille. From there, the canal travelled west to Lew Puy-Sainte-Réparade and then northwest to Saint-Estève-Janson. This portion of the canal, now known as the ''Ancien Canal de Marseille'', was abandoned when the ''Canal EDF de la Durance'' went into service in 1966. Since that time, water initially enters the canal at the hydroelectric station just northwest of Saint-Estève-Janson. The canal then continues northwest to the southern end of the

Cadenet Cadenet () is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Cadenet is a village located on the southern slopes of the Luberon Massif, overlooking the valley of the Durance. It ...

bridge, where it feeds the ''Retenue d'eau de Saint-Christophe''.
Canal09

The route then clings to the hills, passes above

La Roque-d'Anthéron La Roque-d'Anthéron (; Provençal: ''La Ròca d'Antarron'') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. Part of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, it is located on the d ...

and Charleval, turns to the south and exits the Durance valley and

EDF EDF may refer to: Organisations * Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association * Électricité de France, a French energy company ** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary ** EDF Luminus, their Belgian subsidiary * Environmental Defense Fund, ...

via a 3.7 km tunnel under the west end of the hills of the Chaîne des Côtes. The canal emerges from the tunnel to the west of

Lambesc Lambesc () is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. Lambesc is located in the heart of Provence at the foot of the Côtes mountain range, near the Alpilles. The town has a ...

, whereupon the canal's path becomes more complex. Many bridges and tunnels are required to travel the valleys on its way to

Coudoux Coudoux (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Location It is away from Aix-en-Provence, away from Salon-de-Provence, and nearly away from Marseille. As for villages, it is away from Velaux, away fro ...

. The canal travels around the hill of

and comes to the River Arc, where it enters the

. Near this area, the Paris-Marseille high speed railway line passes it, and the railway bridge structure has been designed to harmonize with the aqueduct. From the aqueduct, the canal heads south, through many more tunnels, and feeds the Réservoir du Réaltor, a settling basin needed to clarify the Durance's silt-laden water. The canal then enters a 3.5 km tunnel south under Arbois plain, where it briefly emerges and passes thru a treatment plant at Les Giraudets. The canal then enters a second, 5.5 km tunnel which heads southeast and emerges at La Sevine in the 15th arrondissement of Marseille. From here the canal heads south and begins to splinter into many smaller canals which feed the city. One branch of the canal works its way completely around the eastern side of Marseille, turning south then west and finally ending at the Mediterranean at Mont Rose in Montredon in the 8th arrondissement of Marseille. Canal28

Present day

Water quality

The canal is no longer the sole water source for Marseille. The Canal de Provence, almost completely underground, is a network of canals from the Verdon River built in the 1970s that now brings water to not only Marseille but also

and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

. Today, that water is approximately two thirds of the water brought into Marseille, the remaining third comes from the Verdon through Provence. Both sources are connected. The water is treated in two

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, ...

facilities, Sainte-Marthe and Saint-Barnabé. The main operations performed by the treatment facilities are pre- chlorination, clarification by

flocculation In colloidal chemistry, flocculation is a process by which colloidal particles come out of Suspension (chemistry), suspension to sediment in the form of floc or flake, either spontaneously or due to the addition of a clarifying agent. The actio ...

with a coagulant, sand filtration and disinfection with

ozone Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , break ...

and

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

. In 2006, the health authority of Marseille carried out a number of tests on the water quality, determining that the canal's water conformed to all required norms. In 2009, a young mother and her baby were found dead in their apartment. The culprit was chlorine gas from the water supply that led to a citywide survey of the gasses in the system, but not before others were admitted to hospitals from all over the city.

Administration

The canal was operated by the City of Marseille from 1849 to 1941. However, the destructive fire of the store "Nouvelles Galeries" in November 1938 in which 73 people died, the city government was put under trusteeship, and the operation of the canal was entrusted to the (SEEM) () and Raoul Dautry, who had assisted in the creation of the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

and was named the first president. Since then, SEEM, owned equally by

Veolia Environnement Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. In 2 ...

and ''Lyonnais des eaux'', has controlled the canal's operation.

Support and maintenance

Upon entering the treatment facility at Sainte-Marthe in the 14th arrondissement, the canal water is filtered at the ''bassin du Merlan'' before it exits the structure to enter the distribution network of Marseille. However, the canal is for more than sanitary purposes. Historically, the structure assisted in irrigating fields for farmers and gardeners and greatly boosted the growth of gardening in the area. The canal's offshoot irrigation ditches are controlled by the ''aygadiers'', who have the right to cross private property ito assist in the repair and operation of the canal. The focus of SEEM and the ''aygadiers'' has recently been on centring the use of the canal on drinking water. Therefore, irrigation rights are not being renewed, and the city is providing pressurised water instead. Furthermore, the canal authority employs 15 ''chercheurs de fuite'' ( French: literally "searchers of leaks"), who are responsible for finding leaks in the distribution system. To help them, they use

geophone A geophone is a device that converts ground movement (velocity) into voltage, which may be recorded at a recording station. The Standard deviation, deviation of this measured voltage from the base line is called the seismic response and is analy ...

s, which amplify sound up to 400 times. Employees have allowed the efficiency of the canal to be raised to 85%. L'eau dans Les gens de Marseille..., p 79

Security

The canal outside Marseille is open to the air and can be followed along the road except for the underground sections. However, within the city limits, efforts are being made to close up the canal, prompted by safety concerns over the unpredictable nature of the water's flow following valve openings and the steep and slippery walls. In addition, there are ongoing campaigns aimed at adding fences, lifelines and barriers and posting warning signs along the canal's route

As tourist site and cultural attraction

The canal passes through many picturesque regions of Provence and contains bicycle and walking paths along its route. Notable sites include: * The ''aqueduc de Roquefavour'', near Aix-en-Provence; * The ''

palais Longchamp The Palais Longchamp () is a monument in the 4th arrondissement of Marseille, France. It houses both the Musée des beaux-arts de Marseille, Musée des beaux-arts and the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Marseille. The surrounding Longchamp Park (F ...

'', an historic monument in the center of Marseille; * The réservoir de Sainte-Marthe; * The banks of the canal along the ''Plateau d'Arbois''.

Marcel Pagnol

French novelist

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (, also ; ; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the . Pagnol is generally regarded as one of France's ...

refers to the canal in his memoirs, ''Le Château de ma mère'', and states that his father gave a key to enable him to enter the canal through private property and thus shorten his journey. However, the truth of that claim is doubted.

Bibliography

* ''Les gens de Marseille font le guide'', éd. Images en manœuvres éditions, 2003 (chapitre « L'eau avec Emmanuel Guiol »)

References and notes

External links

Construction of canal
Museum of Marseille {{DEFAULTSORT:Canal De Marseille Buildings and structures in Marseille

Buildings and structures in Bouches-du-Rhône Provence Canals opened in 1849 1849 establishments in France