Aqueduct, comes from the Latin words "aqua," meaning "water", and "ducere," meaning "to lead." An aqueduct is a structure that carries water from a source, whether it be a lake, river, or spring, to a distant city. Aqueducts may take the form of an open or enclosed canal, a tunnel, or a pipeline (Grolier, 1993).

The earliest "type" of aqueduct was the qanaat. A qanaat is a tunnel that starts at the foothill of a mountain, just below the water table, and gradually slopes downhill, to supply water to a near by city (McDonald, 1998). Qanaats were dug out of clay or cut out of soli

"Roman aqueducts continued to be used even after the fall of the empire. Repairs were often inadequate, and most of the aqueducts fell in to disuse" (McDonald, 1998). A few new aqueducts were constructed, but they couldn't be compared to the size of the Roman ones (McDonald, 1998).

One of the earliest known aqueducts built above ground was the aqueduct of Jerwan. King Sennacherib of Assyria started construction on this aqueduct in 691 BC. This huge aqueduct carried water from the Greater Zab River to the king's fields and garden in Nineveh, which was over fifty miles away. A 30 foot high arched bridge was needed to support this aqueduct as it passed over a valley (Grolier, 1993).

d rocks (Grolier, 1993). They were extensively used throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa (McDonald, 1998). In the city of Aleppo, Syria, drinking water still comes from a qanaat, that brings water from a spring over seven miles away (Grolier, 1993).

Another amazing aqueduct was built on the island of Samos in around 530 BC. Designed by the Greek engineer Eupalinus, the Samos structure ran mostly underground. The tunnel was approximately 1 mile long and almost eight feet in diameter. The water flowed through clay pipes that were laid inside the tunnel (Grolier, 1993).

The California State Water Project, composed of canals, pipelines, and tunnels, is based on a unique concept taking into account possible earthquake damage. "Some of the largest hydraulic pumps and turbines ever installed were used, to avoid direct tunneling across the Tehachapi Mountains" (Funk & Wagnalls, 1983). The water would be pumped up one side of the mountain and then when it came down the other side, it would turn huge turbines that would generate massive amounts of electricity needed to run the huge pumps. The State Water Project, with a total length of 684 miles, can supply southern California with over 1.75 billion gallons of water a day (Funk & Wagnalls, 1983).

The constant development of new aqueducts has had a huge effect on each and every one of us. Aque

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