Water infrastructural heritage: management and governance

Water is much more than the molecular common thread to life on Earth. The supply, storage, protection and use of water are expansive topics that universally engage every layer of the world’s social, economic and political spectrum. The built heritage associated with water is steeped in civil engineering achievements meeting critical social needs, examples of which can be found around the globe, from the karez irrigation systems of China’s Xinjiang Region to the aqueducts of ancient Rome, to the step wells of India and the Incan canals of Peru. Infrastructural heritage built to deliver reliable, safe and abundant supplies of water to homes and public baths, agricultural fields and distributing reservoirs continues to function in urban and rural communities across the globe. This paper focuses on some of the unique challenges associated with the stewardship of this water infrastructural heritage, at the intersection of water management and historic preservation.