Aqueduct

Aqua Claudia, Rome (Larger image)

Historically, many agricultural societies have constructed aqueducts to irrigate crops. Archimedes invented the water screw to raise water for use in irrigation of croplands.

Another widespread use for aqueducts is to supply large cities with clean drinking water. Some of the famed Roman aqueducts still supply water to Rome today. In California, USA, a large aqueduct runs in the central valley that transports water from North California to the Los Angeles area.

In modern civil engineering projects, detailed study and analysis of open channel flow is commonly required to support flood control, irrigation systems, and large water suppy systems when an aqueduct rather than a pipeline is the preferred solution.

Navigable aqueducts include:

• aqueduct near Roelofarendsveen, Netherlands: carries the Ringvaart canal over the A4 highway and the HSL being constructed, which are situated on land below the level of the canal (and below sea level)
• Gouwe aqueduct, near Gouda, Netherlands: carries the Gouwe river over the A12 highway, which is on land below the level of the river
• the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carries the Llangollen Canal over the River Dee in north Wales, and was designed by Thomas Telford and opened in 1805.

Segovia, Spain (Larger image)

Roman aqueducts include:

• The Pont du Gard in southern France
• Caesarea, Israel
• Segovia, Spain
• Mérida, Spain
• Tarragona, Spain

See also irrigation, leat.

Referenced By