Chapter 1 Historical Perspective of Water Use and Development
Prof. Dr. Ali El-Naqa Hashemite University June 2013
Chapter Headings Drinking Water for Early Civilizations Early
Irrigation and Flood-Control Projects Early Water Transportation
Development Early Hydropower Development
What is Civilization? For civilization to emerge you need
Agriculture Cities Leisure time to develop skilled workers Among
the key features are Ability to manage water Suitable soil and
climate for agriculture
Managing Water Resources Even in the earliest civilizations we
can find evidence of water management Delivery of drinking water to
cities using qanats and aqueducts Routing of wastewater out of
cities Delivery of water for agriculture through irrigation
Transportation Hydropower
Drinking Water for Early Civilizations Earliest civilization
centers emerged in: Mesopotamia along the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers (Iraq) Indus River (Pakistan) Yangtze River (China) Nile
River (Egypt) Greek and Roman empires (Mediterranean)
Figure 1.1
Qanats Qanat system developed in Mesopotamia area From a
Semitic word meaning to dig Semitic: subfamily of Afro-Asiatic
language family that includes Hebrew and Arabic Delivered ground
water by gravity from an upland area where it was plentiful to a
lowland agricultural areas and cities
Bam, an ancient city in Iran was hit by an earthquake in
December 2003
Transect of wells along a qanat near Bam
Earthquake caused qanats to collapse into sinkholes
Aqueduct Roman empire developed an extensive system of
aqueducts to deliver surface water by gravity to cities Water was
delivered to fountains and baths where citizens collected and used
it Allowed cities to grow in size Reduced amount of time that
individuals (usually women) spent obtaining daily water
Women at a stream collecting water to carry to their village in
Cameroon UNESCO www.wateryear2003.org
Aqueduct in Segovia, Spain
Roman public fountain
Roman public bath at Pompei, Italy
Coaca Maxima (main sewer) for ancient Rome Example of routing
wastewater away from cities
http://courses.washington.edu/tande/urb/
Wind Gap Pumping Plant, Tehachapi Range north of LA California
Aqueduct
Drinking Water Today Supplying drinking water is still an
important function today Many problems Water quality (bacteria,
carcinogens, heavy metals, etc.) Water quantity (competition with
agricultural for water) Waste water treatment Well discuss these in
later chapters
Chapter Headings Drinking Water for Early Civilizations Early
Irrigation and Flood-Control Projects Early Water Transportation
Development Early Hydropower Development
Early Irrigation and Flood Control Civilization centers
developed where soils were fertile For soils to be fertile
nutrients must be collected and deposited in an area so that they
become concentrated Flooding deposits rich mountain (volcanic)
soils in river floodplains Glaciers deposit rich mountain soils at
their terminus and in wind blown loess
Early Irrigation and Flood Control Floodplains are often in dry
areas that require irrigation Nile River civilization is a good
example Sediments from the mountains of Ethiopia and Sudan are
deposited in the floodplains of Egypt Ancient Egyptians developed
an elaborate irrigation system for Nile floodplain
From Chapter 3
Simple devices for lifting water from the river into irrigation
canals: shadoufs, tambour or Achimedes screw, and saqia water
wheel
Ancient Egyptian painting of a shadouf
Early Irrigation and Flood Control Yangtze River was another
river floodplain where civilization developed based on fertile
soils and irrigation Annual rainfall varies between 5 and 32 inches
History of devastating floods Construction of levees to control
flooding
Emperor Yu gained fame for flood control measures starting
around 2280 BC
Early Irrigation and Flood Control During the Ming dynasty
(1368-1644) chief water administrator in China advocated
construction of huge stone levees along rivers Thought that
confining flow of river in channel would cause faster flow and
scour a deeper channel, ultimately reducing flooding Same theory
was being applied along Mississippi River up to 1927 flood disaster
(Rising Tide by John Barry)
Water wheel in use today in China
Early Irrigation in the U.S. Hohokam Indians near present day
Phoenix developed large-scale irrigation system in the Salt River
basin in 800 AD Anasazi Indians developed irrigation systems in
Southwest desert region around 950 AD
Water. 1993. National Geographic Special Edition
Hohokam canal system: Salt River flows to the West
Hohokam canal near Mesa AZ; www.waterhistory. com
Anasazi dwellings at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, NM
Anasazi dwellings at Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park,
CO
Early Irrigation in the U.S. Brigham Young and Mormon followers
began extensive irrigation system in Salt Lake Valley of Utah in
1847 Region receives 15 in of annual rainfall Constructed diversion
dams across rivers and diverted water into irrigation ditches Small
diversion dams were made of logs, rocks and brush Irrigation
ditches were made using horse-drawn plows and hand digging
Early Irrigation in the U.S. Construction of an irrigation
ditch was not simple A ditch too steep would cause fast flow that
would erode the ditch and wash it out A ditch that was too flat
would not move water Rule of thumb was a fall of about 2 feet per
mile
Early Irrigation in the U.S. Homestead Act passed in 1862
Opened the floodgates of development in the West Anyone over the
age of 21 could acquire ownership of 160 acres if Lived on it for 5
years Made improvements to the property Cost was $1.25 per acre
Water for irrigation became a critical issue
Sears, Roebuck & Co. sold windmills to pump
groundwater
Early Irrigation in the U.S. In 1870s Horace Greeley, editor of
NY Tribune promoted settlement in the West with the phrase Go West,
Young Man Time was ripe for western migration Civil War ended in
1865 Transcontinental railroad completed in 1869 Organized a
settlement in Colorado (today called Greeley) to replicate the
irrigation successes of Mormons in Utah
Early Irrigation in the U.S. Late 1800s was a period of
unusually wet weather in West As normal rainfall returned many
settlers without irrigation water were forced to abandon their land
and move into town to work in other professions Drought period in
1930s forced more settlers to abandon land and become migrant
workers Described in Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Central Arizona Irrigation Project
Irrigation Today Irrigation today is extensive in western U.S.
and other areas of the world A number of associated problems
Competition for water with urban sources Salinization of soils
Sedimentation of reservoirs Effect on stream flow and water quality
Will discuss these in later chapters
Chapter Headings Drinking Water for Early Civilizations Early
Irrigation and Flood-Control Projects Early Water Transportation
Development Early Hydropower Development
Early Transportation Development One of the reasons
civilization centers developed near rivers is these were the
interstates River and canal systems used for boat traffic Nile and
Yangtze River are examples Later extensive canal system developed
in Europe
Felucca on the Nile in Egypt
Grand Canal in China connects the Yangtze and Huang He (Yellow
Rivers)
http://www.discoveryangtze.com/Yangtzediscovery/the_grand_canal.htm
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) in Italy developed plans to
improve navigation on the Arno River
Lock and lockkeepers house, Castlefield, England
Early Transportation Development Erie Canal constructed
1817-1825 Connected Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany on Hudson River
363 miles Cut travel time from 20 days to 6 days Cut transportation
costs from $100 to $5/ton Ohio & Erie Canal connected Ohio
River to Lake Erie
Check Google map to see full extent of St. Lawrence River
http://www.google.com/maphp?hl=en&tab=wl&q=
Lock and lockkeepers house on Ohio & Erie Canal near Akron,
OH
Canal boat pulled by mules on towpath, Fulton, OH
Miraflores Lock, Panama Canal (mules on tracks)
Early Transportation Development Mississippi River has been
through history and continues to be a major transportation system
for U.S. Before steamboats keelboats and flatboats were used to
move produce down river After steamboats developed (1810) traffic
ran up and downstream Army Corps of Engineers responsible for
clearing snags
Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, George Caleb Bingham
Jolly Flatboatmen, George Caleb Bingham
Water Transport Today Water transportation not as critical
today due to rail and trucking industries Still a source of
conflict Navigational needs vs. urban and agricultural use of water
In 2003 Corp of Engineers released water from Lake Lanier and lower
lakes to float barge traffic at Columbus Later that year drought
conditions caused record low lake levels Well discuss this in later
chapters
Chapter Headings Drinking Water for Early Civilizations Early
Irrigation and Flood-Control Projects Early Water Transportation
Development Early Hydropower Development
Early Hydropower Development Water wheels were used to grind
grain as early as 100 BC in Greece Until the time of steam engines,
water mills were a major source of energy By 1800 there were
500,000 water mills in Europe Mills ground corn and wheat, powered
bellows and hammers to make iron, ground ingredients for paper, cut
wood, and powered textile mills
Rock Run Grist Mill, Susquehanna State Park, MD overshot mill
for grinding corn
Grist mill
Bottom millstone exposed
Littleton Mill undershot wheel, Littleton, NH
Laudermilk Mil, Clarkesville, GA
Textile mill diagram
Early Hydropower Development With the invention of the light
bulb by Thomas Edison in 1879 hydropower began to be used to
generate electricity One of the first generating plants was built
at Niagara Falls to supply electricity to Buffalo NY Designed by
George Westinghouse Hydropower production peaked in the 1940s when
it provided 1/3 of electricity consumed in U.S.
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls (right), American Falls (left), and Bridal Veil
Falls (small falls just to the right of American Falls)
Hydroelectric plant was to the left of American Falls?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls
Two inlets above the fall diverted water into canals (right
photo # 1 & 2); water flowed down canals to power houses (left
diagram)
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/exhibits/panam/sel/electricity.html
George Westinghouse, 1846-1914
Westinghouse turbine, 1925
Hoover Dam generators
Hydropower Today Hydropower is still important but ability to
transmit electricity is making some dams less critical Movement to
remove dams in some cases Focus on environmental impact of dams on
fish such as salmon Well discuss this in later chapters
Chapter 1 Summary Management of water resources has been a
hallmark of civilizations throughout history Water managed to
provide drinking water, irrigation, flood control, navigation, and
power Although weve been managing water for centuries, many old and
new problems now confront us
Chapter 1 Quiz 1. Name four purposes for which water resources
have been managed through history? 2. Name three early centers of
civilization. 3. What were mills used for historically? 4. What is
required for soils to be fertile (rich in nutrients) in the absence
of fertilizers?