Takes us from the first springs, through Roman baths to the mass storage and distribution of water needed to make the Industrial Revolution possible.

Strange that we call this planet 'earth', given that it is principally covered in water. But fresh, clean drinking water is an element often taken for granted, a finite resource held in reserves, lakes, rivers and marshes. In this informative and fascinating book, author Helen Davies takes us from the first springs, through Roman baths to the mass storage and distribution of water needed to make the Industrial Revolution possible. All around us is the evidence of man's need for water, from reservoirs to springs, public baths, water towers, watermills, the pipes under the streets, the sewage system and health problems, still plaguing much of the planet today.