Aqueduct (water supply)

Although particularly associated with the Romans, aqueducts were likely first used by the Minoans around 2000 BCE. The Minoans had developed what was then an extremely advanced irrigation system, including several aqueducts.[3]

Medieval Deccan aqueduct in Hampi

The Indian subcontinent is believed to have some of the earliest aqueducts. Evidence can be found at the sites of present-day Hampi, Karnataka. The massive aqueducts near Tungabhadra River supplying irrigation water were once 15 miles (24 km) long.[4] The waterways supplied water to royal bath tubs.

In Oman from the Iron Age, in Salut, Bat, and other sites, a system of underground aqueducts called falaj or qanāts were constructed, a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping horizontal tunnels.

There are three types of falaj:

• Daudi (داوودية) with underground aqueducts
• Ghaili (الغيلية ) requiring a dam to collect the water
• Aini (العينية ) whose source is a water spring

These enabled large scale agriculture to flourish in a dry land environment.

Scheme of a qanat, an underground form of aqueduct popular in ancient Persia

In Persia from early times a system of underground aqueducts called qanāts were constructed, a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels. This technique:

• taps into subterranean water in a manner that delivers water to the surface without need for pumping. The water drains relying on gravity, with the destination lower than the source, which is typically an upland aquifer.
• allows water to be transported long distances in hot dry climates without losing a large proportion of the source water to seepage and evaporation.

Nabataean aqueduct in Petra, Jordan

Throughout Petra, Jordan, the Nabataean engineers took advantage of every natural spring and every winter downpour to channel water where it was needed. They constructed aqueducts and piping systems that allowed water to flow across mountains, through gorges and into the temples, homes, and gardens of Petra's citizens. Walking through the Siq, one can easily spot the remains of channels that directed water to the city center, as well as durable retention dams that kept powerful flood waters at bay.

On the island of Samos, the Tunnel of Eupalinos was built during the reign of Polycrates (538–522 BC). It is considered an underground aqueduct and brought fresh water to Pythagoreion for roughly a thousand years.

The multiple arches of the Pont du Gard, in Roman Gaul. Its lower tiers carry a road across the river, and the upper tiers support an aqueduct conduit that carried water to Nimes

Roman aqueducts were built in all parts of the Roman Empire, from Germany to Africa, and especially in the city of Rome, where they totalled over 415 kilometres (258 mi). The aqueducts supplied fresh water to public baths and for drinking water, in large cities across the empire, and set a standard of engineering that was not surpassed for more than a thousand years. Bridges, built in stone with multiple arches, were a distinctive feature of Roman aqueducts and hence the term aqueduct is often applied specifically to a bridge for carrying water.[1]

Underground aqueducts of Cantalloc, Nazca, Peru

Near the Peruvian town of Nazca, an ancient pre-Columbian system of aqueducts called Puquios were built and are still in use today. They were made of intricately placed stones, a construction material widely used by the Nazca culture. The time period in which they were constructed is still debated, but some evidence supports circa A.D. 540–552, in response to drought periods in the region.[5]

The Guayabo National Monument of Costa Rica, a park covering the largest archaeological site in the country, contains a system of aqueducts. The complex network of uncovered and covered aqueducts still functions well.[6] The aqueducts are constructed from rounded river stones, which are mostly made of volcanic rock.[7] The civilization that constructed the aqueduct system remains a mystery to archaeologists; it is suspected that Guayabo's aqueducts sat at a point of ancient cultural confluence between Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas.

When Europeans saw the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, early in the 16th century, the city was watered by two aqueducts. One of these, Chapultepec aqueduct, built c. 1420, was rebuilt by the Spanish almost three hundred years later. Originally tracing part of its path over now-gone Lake Texcoco, only a fragment remains in Mexico City today.

Extensive usage of elaborate aqueducts have been found to have been used in ancient Sri Lanka. The best example is the Yoda Ela or Jaya Ganga, an 87 kilometres (54 mi) long water canal carrying excess water between two artificial reservoirs with a gradient of 10 to 20 cm per kilometer during the fifth century AD. However, the ancient engineering methods in calculating the exact elevation between the two reservoirs and the exact gradient of the canal to such fine precision had been lost with the fall of the civilization in 13th Century.[8]

The simplest aqueducts are small ditches cut into the earth. Much larger channels may be used in modern aqueducts, for instance the Central Arizona Project uses 7.3 m (24 ft) wide channels.[10] A major factor in the design of all open channels is its gradient. A higher gradient allows a smaller channel to carry the same amount of water as a larger channel with a lower gradient, but increases the potential of the water to damage the aqueduct's structure. A typical Roman aqueduct had a gradient of about 1:4800.[11]

Artificial rills, known locally as Bächle, flank several streets in the old quarter of Freiburg, Germany.

An artificial rill, part of the Falaj water transportation system, at Al Ain Oasis, in the Abu Dhabi Emirate.

A constructed functional rill is a small canal or aqueduct of stone, brick, concrete, or other lining material, usually rectilinear in cross section, for water transportation from a source such as a river, spring, reservoir, qanat, or aqueduct for domestic consumption or agricultural irrigation of crop land uses.

Rills were traditionally used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean climate cultures of ancient and historical eras; and other climates and continents worldwide. They are distinguished from a 'water ditch' by being lined to reduce absorption losses and to increase durability. The Falaj irrigation system at the Al Ain Oasis, in present-day Abu Dhabi Emirate, uses rills as part of its qanat water system. Sometimes in the Spanish language they are called Acequias.

Rills are also used for aesthetic purposes in landscape design. Rills are used as narrow channels of water inset into the pavement of a garden, as linear water features, and often tiled and part of a fountain design.

The historical origins are from paradise garden religious images that first translated into ancient Persian Gardens. Rills were later exceptionally developed in the Moorish (Spanish) Gardens of Al-andalus, such as at the Alhambra in Granada; and also in other Islamic gardens, cultures, and countries. Early 20th century examples are in the María Luisa Park gardens in Seville, Spain; and at the Casa del Herrero gardens in Montecito, California.

Aqueducts sometimes run for some or all of their path through tunnels constructed underground. A version of this common in North Africa and Central Asia that has vertical wells at regular intervals is called a qanat. One historic example found in Syria, the Qanat Firaun, extends over 100 kilometers.[12]

The Los Angeles Aqueduct

Modern aqueducts may also make extensive use of pipelines. Pipelines are useful for transporting water over long distances when it needs to move over hills, or where open channels are poor choices due to considerations of evaporation, freezing, pollution, or environmental impact. They can also be used to carry treated water.