Ancient water systems provide lessons for today

Excerpt

Arid regions supporting human populations appear to be expanding in many parts of the world. Competition for ever scarcer water resources is increasing in these regions. The situation is compounded by changing weather patterns, changes in patterns of land use, and increasing human population densities (Grainger 1990). The implications for sustainable human cultures in arid parts of the world are not encouraging.

Ancient water harvesting systems are often treated as merely historical curiosities, yet they involve useful engineering and hydrology concepts, in addition to excellent techniques for delivering water to human populations and for agriculture. Perhaps it is time to look again at the productive hydrological systems of the ancient world to provide insight into potential solutions to current and future water resource challenges, particularly in arid regions.

Ancient water systems in the Middle East dating back at least 5,000 years demonstrate great sophistication. Traditionally in the Middle East, water for agriculture and urban populations depended almost entirely on harvesting rainfall. The region has long, dry summers and usually the possibility of rain only in winter. In much of the semi-arid areas of this region, past cultures put in place sophisticated systems using excellent engineering and hydrological techniques …