School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland
Abstract
Throughout the ages, the construction of hydraulic structures has supported the development of human civilisation. Around 3000 BC, masonry dams on the Nile provided irrigation water in Egypt, while in Mesopotamia canals were built for irrigation, draining swamps and transportation [2, 3, 5]. The 18th and 19th centuries saw the rapid development of water supply systems in response to the industrial development and the needs for reliable water supply [4, 7, 8] (Fig. 1 & 2). More recently, the 1940s to 1970s saw a worldwide boom in large water projects, mainly for consumption, irrigation, transport, hydropower and flood protection [3]. For example, the California Central Valley Project, built between 1933 and 1970, provides irrigation water to over 1.2 million hectares and generates over 1 million kW of power [3]. The rate of construction of new water projects in Europe and North America has dropped during the last few decades, and many of the original water harvesting system mega projects are now near, or even past, their original intended design lives. The question therefore arises whether the existing systems are redundant relics from the past that have reached their sell-by date, or do they still have an important role to play in modern society
