The Chicama Moche intervalley canal never carried water as a functioning canal due to uphill slope errors made by unsophisticated Chimu engineers. There is no evidence of tectonic uplift directly affecting the intervalley canal, either during or after its construction, to create the numerous uphill sections along its entire length. The hydrological calculations of Ortloff et al. (1982) are based on preliminary survey data which do not conform with more detailed excavation and survey data. Thus, in this commentary the intervalley Canal is reinterpreted as an impressive manifestation of the political and organizational power of the Chimu rulers. but not as a great hydraulic engineering feat.