One of the earliest examples of the exploitation of groundwater to sustain human civilization is the aqueduct system of ancient Rome. Although some of the aqueducts were fed by surface water, most of them were supplied by springs, usually augmented by tunneling to increase the flow of groundwater.
Diodorus Siculus enumerated the seven wonders of the ancient world in the first century BC (1814, 99). Had the accounting been taken a century or two later, surely the aqueducts of Rome would have been included. In his Natural History, Pliny the Elder (23 to 79âAD) touted the aqueducts of Rome as a âmarvelâ that was âunsurpassedâ (1857, 352). âIf we only take into consideration the abundant supply of water to the public, for baths, ponds, canals, household purposes, gardens, places in the suburbs, and country houses; and then reflect upon the distances that are traversed, the arches that have been constructed, the mountains that have been pierced, the valleys that have been levelled, we must of necessity admit that there is nothing to be found more worthy of our admiration throughout the whole universeâ (1857, 353 to 354).
Contemplation of Roman accomplishments in hydraulic engineering compels us to agree with Pliny's assessment. And other writers were unsparing in their encomia. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus (c. 60 to 7âBC) ranked the aqueducts as one of âthe three most magnificent works in Rome,â the other two being paved roads and sewers. The aqueducts were a testament to the âgreatness of the Roman empire,â because of their usefulness and the expense of constructing them (Dionysius 1758, 129). The geographer, Strabo (c. 64âBC to 24âAD), noted that âso plentiful is the supply of water from the aqueducts, that rivers may be said to flow through the city and the sewers, and almost every house is furnished with waterâpipes and copious fountainsâ (1854, 350). Edward Gibbon (1737 to 1794), celebrated author of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, described the aqueducts of ancient Rome as âamong the noblest monuments of Roman genius and powerâ due to âthe boldness of the enterprise, the solidity of the execution, and the uses to which they were subservientâ (Gibbon 1900, 70). Modern water supply systems rivalling those of ancient Rome were not constructed until the nineteenth century (Wilson 2008, 312