Splendors of Water

 Water and Civilization.

Water is the mainspring of civilization. The etymology of ' civilization ' provides an interesting insight into the relationship between civilization and water. The word ' civilization ' is derived from Latin ' civilis ' ( civil ) and ' civitas ' ( city ), denoting a relation to the cities in which ancient citizens lived. All the ancient civilizations were formed near natural water sources making it one of the mankind's most important resources. For example, the Egyptian Civilization was based on the banks of Nile river, the Mesopotamian civilization on the bank of rivers Euphrates and Tigris, the Indus civilization on the Indus river and the Chinese civilization on the Yellow river or Huang He.

In ancient civilizations human created water mills to grind wheat, developed drainage, built canals, aqueducts, and pipes for water transport. They invented water drainage of aquifers by building qanats, and built structures of water displays for aesthetic purpose.

A civilization is a complex human society, usually made up of different cities, with certain characteristics of cultural and technological development. The Industrial and Post-industrial age of the 20th and 21st centuries shaped the modern technology of water supply sewage disposal, building of dams and reservoirs, hydroelectric power plants, irrigation, drainage, pollution control, and navigation on rivers and canals.

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