Timeline of water supply

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This is a timeline of water supply, focusing on the provision and treatment of water for non–agricultural human consumption. Improved water source is prioritized. Irrigation is not covered.

Big picture

Time period Development summary
Prehistory Hunter-gatherers use rivers for drinking and bathing. Permanent settlements are usually established near a river or lake. When there are no rivers or lakes in an area, people use groundwater for drinking.[1] During the Neolithic, humans dig the first permanent water wells, from where vessels can be filled and carried by hand.
Ancient times "in the Roman era a water wheel device known as a noria supplied water to aqueducts and other water distribution systems in major cities in Europe and the Middle East"
Middle ages water-bearers carry water to the cities.[1]
Industrial revolution Mechanical pumped supplies become available with the advent of the steam driven Newcomen engine in 1700.[2]
19th century Water towers appear late in the century.
20th century Desalination appears late in the century, and is still limited to a few areas.
Recent years Worldwide, about 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. Every year, 5 million people die of waterborne diseases.[3]

Full timeline

Year Event type Details Present time country/location
6500 BC Wells dug around this time are found in the Jezreel Valley.[4] Israel
5000 BC Storage Jericho stores water in water wells that are used as sources.[1]
3200 BC – 1100 BC Distribution The Minoan civilization in Crete is the first to use underground clay pipes for sanitation and water supply. Knossos, the capital, has a well–organized water system for bringing in clean water.[5] Greece
3000 BC "A primitive indoor, tree bark lined, two channel, stone, fresh and wastewater system appears to have featured in the houses of in Skara Brae, from around 3000 BCE, along with a cell like enclave in a number of houses, that it has been suggested may have functioned as an early indoor toilet."[6] United Kingdom
3000 BC Supply The city of Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan uses a very extensive water supply. The city boasts public bathing facilities with water boiler installations and bathrooms.[1] Pakistan
700 BC–400 AD The Romans build a system of aqueducts providing inhabitants with fresh running water, which is piped directly to homes of the wealthy, and to public fountains and baths. This system greatly improves domestic sanitation and adequate disposal of sewage.[7] Italy
221 BC – 220 AD "Plumbing is also known to have been used in East Asia since the Qin and Han Dynasties of China." China
100 BC – 800 AD "In ancient Peru, the Nazca people employed a system of interconnected wells and an underground watercourse known as puquios."
40 – 60 AD? Transportation Ancient Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard is finished.[8] France
52 AD Transportation Rome has 220 miles of aqueducts, which bring in fresh water to the city, and is used for public bathing, fountains, and latrines. The waste water is then removed by the city’s sewage system, some of which, like the Cloaca Maxima, is still in use today.[9] Italy
100 AD Publication Roman senator Frontinus writes a handbook on the Roman aqueduct system.[8][10] Italy
532 AD Storage The Basilica Cistern is built in Istanbul to store fresh water for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I's palace and nearby buildings.[11][2] Turkey
1500 In Hama, Syria, there are a series of water driven wheels of various diameters, that lifts the river water to an aqueduct at a higher level for drinking and irrigation purposes.[2] Syria
1561 – 1626 English scientist Sir Francis Bacon is attributed the first recorded experiment for filtration in modern history. Bacon believes that using sand to filter seawater would purify it. Though his hypothesis prove to be incorrect, it would pave the way towards further studies on clean drinking water filtration.[12] United Kingdom
1579 Dutchman Peter Maurice acquires a 500 year lease to construct a water wheel under the first arch of London Bridge on the River Thames, supplying water to individual local houses through lead pipes.[2] United Kingdom
1723 Chelsea Waterworks Company becomes one of the first water companies to use steam driven Newcomen engine.[2] United Kingdom
1775 "The S-bend pipe was invented by Alexander Cummings in 1775"
1802 "In 1802 Napoleon built the Ourcq canal which brought 70,000 cubic meters of water a day to Paris" France
1804 Supply The first drinking water supply covering an entire city is built in Paisley, Scotland by Scottish civil engineer John Gibb, in order to supply his bleachery and the entire city with water.[1][10] United Kingdom
1807 Transportation Filtered water is transported to Glasgow.[1] United Kingdom
1827 English engineer James Simpson builds a sand filter for drinking water purification.[1] United Kingdom
1845 "The first screw-down water tap was patented in 1845 by Guest and Chrimes, a brass foundry in Rotherham"
1880 " introduction of the U-shaped trap by Thomas Crapper in 1880"
1905 Epidemic Serious typhid fever epidemic breaks out in Lincoln , England. Dr. Alexander Cruikshank Houston uses chlorination of the water to stem the epidemic. This marks the beginning of permanent water chlorination. The same year, the London Metropolitan Water Board starts applying drinking water disinfection after researching the disinfection mechanism of chlorine in water purification, under the view that chlorine disinfection is a suitable alternative for long-term storage of raw water. [5][13][12] United Kingdom
1913 "The Los Angeles–Owens River Aqueduct is completed, bringing water 238 miles from the Owens Valley of the Sierra Nevada Mountains into the Los Angeles basin. The project was proposed and designed by William Mulholland, an immigrant from Ireland who taught himself geology, hydraulics, and mathematics and worked his way up from a ditch tender on the Los Angeles River to become the superintendent of the Los Angeles Water Department. Mulholland devised a system to transport the water entirely by gravity flow and supervised 5,000 construction workers over 5 years to deliver the aqueduct within original time and cost estimates."[14]
1919 "Civil engineer Abel Wolman and chemist Linn H. Enslow of the Maryland Department of Health in Baltimore develop a rigorous scientific formula for the chlorination of urban water supplies. (In 1908 Jersey City Water Works, New Jersey, became the first facility to chlorinate, using sodium hypochlorite, but there was uncertainty as to the amount of chlorine to add and no regulation of standards.) To determine the correct dose, Wolman and Enslow analyze the bacteria, acidity, and factors related to taste and purity. Wolman overcomes strong opposition to convince local governments that adding the correct amounts of otherwise poisonous chemicals to the water supply is beneficial—and crucial—to public health. By the 1930s chlorination and filtration of public water supplies eliminates waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A, and dysentery. The formula is still used today by water treatment plants around the world."[14]
1930 "Hardy Cross method. Hardy Cross, civil and structural engineer and educator, develops a method for the analysis and design of water flow in simple pipe distribution systems, ensuring consistent water pressure. Cross employs the same principles for the water system problem that he devised for the "Hardy Cross method" of structural analysis, a technique that enables engineers—without benefit of computers—to make the thousands of mathematical calculations necessary to distribute loads and moments in building complex structures such as multi-bent highway bridges and multistory buildings."[14]
1935 "In September, President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks at the dedication of Hoover Dam, which sits astride the Colorado River in Black Canyon, Nevada. Five years in construction, the dam ends destructive flooding in the lower canyon; provides water for irrigation and municipal water supplies for Nevada, Arizona, and California; and generates electricity for Las Vegas and most of Southern California."[14]
1951 "First hard rock tunnel-boring machine built. Mining engineer James S. Robbins builds the first hard rock tunnel-boring machine (TBM). Robbins discovers that if a sharp-edged metal wheel is pressed on a rock surface with the correct amount of pressure, the rock shatters. If the wheel, or an array of wheels, continually rolls around on the rock and the pressure is constant, the machine digs deeper with each turn. The engineering industry is at first reluctant to switch from the commonly used drill-and-blast method because Robbins’s machine has a $10 million price tag. Today, TBMs are used to excavate circular cross-section tunnels through a wide variety of geology, from soils to hard rock."[14]
1955 Ductile cast-iron pipe becomes the industry standard, being used in water distribution systems. It becomes the industry standard for metal due to its superior strength, durability, and reliability over cast iron. The pipe is used to transport potable water, sewage, and fuel, and is also used in fire-fighting systems.[14]
1970s "Aswan High Dam. The Aswan High Dam construction is completed, about 5 kilometers upstream from the original Aswan Dam (1902). Known as Saad el Aali in Arabic, it impounds the waters of the Nile to form Lake Nasser, the world’s third-largest reservoir, with a capacity of 5.97 trillion cubic feet. The project requires the relocation of thousands of people and floods some of Egypt’s monuments and temples, which are later raised. But the new dam controls annual floods along the Nile, supplies water for municipalities and irrigation, and provides Egypt with more than 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electric power every year."[14]
1977 "the UN Conference on Water was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Its goals were to assess the status of wa ter resources; to ensure that an adequate supply of quality water was available to meet the planet’s socio-economic needs; to increase water use efficiency; and to promote preparedness, nati onally and internationall y, so as to avoid a water crisis of global dimensions be fore the end of twentieth century" "The conference approved the Mar del Pl ata Action Plan, which was the first internationally coordinated approach to IWRM. The plan had two parts: a set of recommendations that covere d all the essential component s of water management, and twelve resolutions on a wide ra nge of specific subject areas." "The Mar del Plata conference was a success, in part due to the active participation of the developing world and the discussions on various aspects of water management, specifically the country and region specific analyses"[15] Argentina
1980 "In 1980, a hepatitis A surge due to the consumption of water from a feces-contaminated well, in Pennsylvania"[16]
1987 "In 1987, a cryptosporidiosis outbreak is caused by the public water supply of which the filtration was contaminated, in western Georgia"[17]
1988 Many people become poisoned through contaminated drinking water supply in Camelford, after a worker puts 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate in the wrong tank. United Kingdom
1990 "The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP) has produced regular estimates of national, regional and global progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) since 1990. "[18]
1990 The proportion of the global population using an improved drinking water source stands at 76%.[19]
1992 The International Conference on Water and the Environment (ICWE) is organized in Dublin. The formulated Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development recognizes the increasing scarcity of water as a result of the different conflicting uses and overuses of wat. Ireland
1993 400,000 people fall ill in Milwaukee from using drinking water that is contaminated by Cryptosporidium cysts.[3] United States
1993 Overfeeding of fluoride results in a fluoride poisoning outbreak, in Mississippi.[20] United States
1996 The Global Water Partnership is founded with the support of the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.[21][22]
1997 "In 1997, 369 cases of cryptosporidiosis occurred, caused by a contaminated fountain in the Minnesota zoo. Most of the sufferers were children"[23]
1998 The European Union accepts the Drinking Water Directive 98/83/EC guideline, a framework of quality demands for drinking water. The guidelines include parameters that must be checked to determine quality. The countries of the European Union can add their own demands to this guideline.[13]
1998 "In 1998, a non-chlorinated municipal water supply was blamed for a campylobacteriosis outbreak in northern Finland"[24]
2000 "In 2000, the Second World Water Forum in The Hague concluded that women are the primary users of domestic water, that women used water in their key food production roles, and that women and children were the most vulnerable to water-related disasters".[25]
2000 Worldwide, 3.5 billion use piped water supply.[18]
2000 "In 2000, a gastroenteritis outbreak that was brought by a non-chlorinated community water supply, in southern Finland"[26]
2003 "The United Nations Interagency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) established the Gender and Water Task Force in 2003. The Task Force has since become a UN-Water Task Force and is taking responsibility for the gender component of International Water for Life Decade (2005-1015)."[27]
2004 "In 2004, contamination of the community water supply, serving the Bergen city centre of Norway, was later reported after the outbreak of waterborne giardiasis"[28]
2006 "According to a 2006 World Bank study average water tariffs in Latin America are the highest of any region of the developing world. Tariffs are about four times higher than in South Asia, three times higher than in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and almost twice as high as in East Asia. However, tariffs are less than half as high as in OECD countries. Based on a sample of 23 major cities in Latin America the average residential water tariff for a monthly consumption of 15 cubic meter was US$0.41, equivalent to a monthly bill of only about US$6."[29]
2007 "In 2007, contaminated drinking water was pinpointed which had led to the outbreak of gastroenteritis with multiple aetiologies in Denmark"[30]
2010 (28 July) The Human Right to Water and Sanitation is recognized as a human right by the United Nations General Assembly.[31]
2010 "In 2010, about 87% of the global population (5.9 billion people) had access to piped water supply through house connections or to an improved water source through other means than house, including standpipes, water kiosks, spring supplies and protected wells. However, about 13% (about 900 million people) did not have access to an improved water source and had to use unprotected wells or springs, canals, lakes or rivers for their water needs."[32]
2015 The proportion of the global population using an improved drinking water source stands at 91% (up from 76% in 1990).[19] " 71 per cent of the global population (5.2 billion people) used a safely managed drinking water service; that is, one located on premises, available when needed and free from contamination. "<ref name="Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2017"> Also, the worldwide population using piped water supply reaches 4.7 billion (up from 3.5 billion in 2000).[18]

See also

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "History of drinking water treatment". lenntech.com. Retrieved 7 August 2017. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "10 General Water Supply History". essexwatersupply.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Waterborne diseases". lenntech.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  4. Ashkenazi, Eli (Nov 9, 2012). "Ancient well reveals secrets of first Jezreel Valley farmers". haaretz.com. Haaretz. Retrieved 26 March 2014. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Burke, Joseph. FLUORIDATED WATER CONTROVERSY. Retrieved 4 August 2017. 
  6. Ginenthal, Charles (2015). Pillars of the Past Volume Four. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781329747944. 
  7. "SNAPSHOTS OF PUBLIC SANITATION". hygieneforhealth.org.au. Retrieved 3 August 2017. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Watering Ancient Rome". pbs.org. Retrieved 7 August 2017. 
  9. "History of Plumbing Systems". homeadvisor.com. Retrieved 6 August 2017. 
  10. 10.0 10.1 Verma, Subhash; et al. Water Supply Engineering. Retrieved 10 August 2017. 
  11. "Inside the Ancient Underground Cisterns of Istanbul". slate.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 "How drinking water has improved over the last 100 years". aquafil.com.au. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  13. 13.0 13.1 "Water disinfection application standards (for EU)". lenntech.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 "Water Supply and Distribution Timeline". greatachievements.org. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  15. "United Nations Conference on Water (Mar del Plata 1977)" (PDF). who.int. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  16. Bowen GS, McCarthy MA (June 1983). "Hepatitis A associated with a hardware store water fountain and a contaminated well in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1980". Am. J. Epidemiol. 117 (6): 695–705. PMID 6859025. 
  17. Hayes EB, Matte TD, O'Brien TR, et al. (May 1989). "Large community outbreak of cryptosporidiosis due to contamination of a filtered public water supply". N. Engl. J. Med. 320 (21): 1372–6. PMID 2716783. doi:10.1056/NEJM198905253202103. 
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2017" (PDF). who.int. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  19. 19.0 19.1 "Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all". un.org. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  20. Penman AD, Brackin BT, Embrey R (1997). "Outbreak of acute fluoride poisoning caused by a fluoride overfeed, Mississippi, 1993". Public Health Rep. 112 (5): 403–9. PMC 1381948Freely accessible. PMID 9323392. 
  21. Reinicke, Wolfgang H. (1999) "The Other World Wide Web: Global Public Policy Networks" Foreign Policy No. 117 pp. 44-57, page 53
  22. "Environment - Water Partnerships". Web.worldbank.org. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 
  23. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (October 1998). "Outbreak of cryptosporidiosis associated with a water sprinkler fountain—Minnesota, 1997". MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 47 (40): 856–60. PMID 9790661. 
  24. Kuusi M, Nuorti JP, Hänninen ML, et al. (August 2005). "A large outbreak of campylobacteriosis associated with a municipal water supply in Finland". Epidemiol. Infect. 133 (4): 593–601. PMC 2870285Freely accessible. PMID 16050503. doi:10.1017/S0950268805003808. 
  25. "Women and Water", UN Division for the Advancement of Women, 2005.
  26. Kuusi M, Klemets P, Miettinen I, et al. (April 2004). "An outbreak of gastroenteritis from a non-chlorinated community water supply". J Epidemiol Community Health. 58 (4): 273–7. PMC 1732716Freely accessible. PMID 15026434. doi:10.1136/jech.2003.009928. 
  27. UN Water Activities
  28. Nygård K, Schimmer B, Søbstad Ø, et al. (2006). "A large community outbreak of waterborne giardiasis-delayed detection in a non-endemic urban area". BMC Public Health. 6: 141. PMC 1524744Freely accessible. PMID 16725025. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-141. 
  29. Foster, Halpern and Komides, 2005, p. 21, drawing on data from the Latin American water regulator association ADERASA
  30. Vestergaard LS, Olsen KE, Stensvold R, et al. (March 2007). "Outbreak of severe gastroenteritis with multiple aetiologies caused by contaminated drinking water in Denmark, January 2007". Euro Surveill. 12 (3): E070329.1. PMID 17439795. 
  31. "Resolution 64/292: The human right to water and sanitation". United Nations. August 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2017. 
  32. WHO/UNICEF joint monitoring report 2010. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/fast_facts/en/