Water systems

How people have found, moved, shared and cleaned water: from the spring and the well to the qanat, the aqueduct, the piped city and the desalination plant — and who has been left without.

“We made from water every living thing” (al-Anbiya’ 21:30). The Prophet (pbuh) said people share in three things: water, pasture and fire (Sunan Abi Dawud 3477), and forbade wasting water even at a flowing river (Sunan Ibn Majah 425). Withdrawal figures are rounded estimates (FAO AQUASTAT, Shiklomanov).