Water Power

Abstract

Water power was the principal source of energy for British and Irish industry for the greater part of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, especially in the textile industries. Even in the nineteenth century steam power in many Irish, Scottish, and Welsh industries was a supplement rather than a replacement for water-powered prime movers. In the early twenty-first century water power remains an important low-carbon power-generation option. Using British and Irish examples this chapter reviews the technological development of water power, from vertical and horizontal waterwheels, the replacement of wood with iron fabric in the transmission systems, and improvements in waterwheel design, to water turbines and the introduction of hydroelectric generation.

Challenges of Documenting Historic Water Systems

“…Historic water systems are complex social, environmental, and engineered landscapes, consisting of a series of built environment features facilitating water storage (dams and reservoirs), water extraction (wells), and water conveyance (canals, ditches, aqueducts; Hardesty and Little 2009:86; Rynne 2022; Worster 1992). Many of these systems have associated water management components such as levees, hydroelectric generators, headgates, or weirs (McVarish 2008:Chapter 5).…”