Transcript Water Sustainability: The History of Water Sustainability

Unit 2
Lesson 1
PowerPoint 2
100,000 BC10,000 BC
Hunter/Gatherers
Nomadic Tribes
Went looking for
their water.
Around 10,000 BC
Agricultural
Revolution
Civilizations
Had to sustain
their water.
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The inefficiencies of collecting water limited
population growth.
The early ancient civilizations had to find
efficient means for supplying water in mass
quantities to increase their population size.
No population can live outside its means.
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Wells – tap into aquifers for fresh drinking
water
◦ Aquifer - A body of permeable rock that can
contain or transmit groundwater.
 Aquifers are a limited resource; eventually they will dry
out if not conserved properly. This is known as aquifer
depletion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qR0Uke2XNI
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Dams – ancients would dam up streams and
create reservoirs.
◦ Reservoirs - A large natural (found in nature) or
artificial (man-made) lake used as a source of water
supply
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Canals - trenches dug that feed from existing
streams or get their contents from man-made
reservoirs. Allows one to redirect the flow of
water.
◦ Two types:
 Waterways – were built all across western Europe
(imagine a railroad system that carries boats instead
of trains)
 Aqueduct – water supply canals that are used for the
delivery of potable water for human consumption.
 Potable water – drinking water (water of high
quality that can be consumed or used without the
risk of immediate or long term harm)
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Aqueducts have been supplying civilizations with
potable water for centuries.
Ancient Rome was the first civilization to produce
aqueducts on a grand scale that could supply
entire cities.
The city of Rome supported a population of over
1 million through the use of their aqueducts.
Water became a part of Roman life.
At the same time, most of the world still had to
gather their water from streams, reservoirs, or
wells.
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Roman aqueducts were powered solely by
gravity. There were no pumps involved.
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Rome was a very wealthy and clean city
during its prime. Thanks to the aqueducts,
the average Roman could bathe in public bath
houses, potable water could be pumped to
drinking fountains, and raw sewage able to
be pumped out of the city.
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After the fall of Rome and the destruction of
the aqueducts, Rome lost nearly 90% of its
population.
Water sustainability is important!