ABSTRACT
We are concerned here with the study of the engineering elements in the two related technologies of irrigation and water supply. Indeed, so closely are they related that several of their constituents are identical. This applies to the main arteries bringing water to the distribution networks — canals, aqueducts and qanats — and to the methods of impounding and storing the water. As we shall see, the same arteries were sometimes used to serve both purposes. Irrigation and water supply stimulated the development of other technologies, which are dealt with elsewhere in this book: Dams in Chapter 3; Bridges (including aqueducts) in Chapter 4; Surveying in Chapter 7; and Water-raising machines in Chapter 8. Some applications of these technologies will, however, be mentioned in this chapter.
