HISTORY OF HYDROLOGY

Introduction
Water is one of our most important natural resources. Without it, there would be
no life on earth. The supply of water available for our use is limited by nature. Although
there is plenty of water on earth, it is not always in the right place, at the right time and of
the right quality. Adding to the problem is the increasing evidence that chemical wastes
improperly discarded yesterday are showing up in our water supplies today. Hydrology
has evolved as a science in response to the need to understand the complex water
systems of the Earth and help solve water problems.
Hydrology is the science that encompasses the occurrence, distribution,
movement and properties of the waters of the earth and their relationship with the
environment within each phase of the hydrologic cycle. It gives weight toward the study
of water in the Earth and is concerned with local circulations related to the atmosphere,
lithosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere leading to water movement, distribution, quality,
and environmental aspects. Broadly, it deals also with the physical as well as chemical
relationships. In general, it is concerned with natural events such as rainfall, runoff,
drought, flood and runoff, groundwater occurrences, their control, prediction, and
management. On the application side, hydrology provides basic laws, equations,
algorithms, procedures, and modellin of these events for the practical use of human
comfort. It also covers the practical and field applications for water resources
assessments with simple rational calculations leading toward proper managements.

History and Origin of Hydrology

It was along the Indus in Pakistan, the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the
Hwang Ho in China, and the Nile in Egypt that the first hydraulic engineers created canals,
levees, dams, subsurface water conduits, and wells as early as 5000-6000 years ago.
Advances in the 18th century included the Bernoulli piezometer and Bernoulli's equation,
by Daniel Bernoulli, the Pitot tube. The 19th century saw development in groundwater
hydrology, including Darcy's law, the Dupuit-Thiem well formula, and Hagen-Poiseuille's
capillary flow equation.
Jacqui (1987) traced the history of hydrology to ancient China and postulated three
stages of the development of the study of hydrology. The first stage is the Stage of
geographical hydrology where establishment of hydrological cycle and concept of water
balance took place. The second stage is Stage of engineering hydrology – design of
control structures and quantitative analysis of hydrological phenomena. Lastly is Stage of
social development – the stage in which the water demand is more and large scale of use
of water resources is occurring. Coupled with the development of new techniques brought
about a new stage of water resources involving resource analysis and management.
 Hydrology has been a subject of investigation and engineering for millennia. For
example, in Egypt, the Nile floods formed basis for a large scale successful agricultural
system. Irrigation's history can be traced back as up to 5000 years, the proof of which is
the remains of the world's oldest dam built between 2950 and 2750 B.C found near Cairo.
Mesopotamian towns were protected from flooding with high earthen walls. Aqueducts
were built by the Greeks and Ancient Romans, while the history of China shows they built
irrigation and flood control works. The ancient Sinhalese used hydrology to build complex
irrigation works in Sri Lanka, also known for invention of the Valve Pit which allowed
construction of large reservoirs, anicuts and canals which still function.
Marcus Vitruvius, in the first century BC, described a philosophical theory of the
hydrologic cycle, in which precipitation falling in the mountains infiltrated the Earth's
surface and led to streams and springs in the lowlands. The next stage is when Aristotle
(384-322 B.C) explained mechanism of precipitation. With adoption of a more scientific
approach, Leonardo da Vinci and Bernard Palissy independently reached an accurate
representation of the hydrologic cycle. Da Vinci (1452-1519) gave a better understanding
of flow in open channels and Palissy (1510-1590) stated that rainfall was the only source
of water of spring and rivers. Both gave the concept of water cycle in the 15th century.
Modern science of hydrology began with studies of Pierre Perrault, Edme Marriotte
and Edmund Hally in the 17th century. By measuring rainfall, runoff, and drainage area,
Perrault showed that rainfall was sufficient to account for flow of the Seine. Marriotte
combined velocity and river cross-section measurements to obtain discharge, again in
the Seine. Halley showed that the evaporation from the Mediterranean Sea was sufficient
to account for the outflow of rivers flowing into the sea.
Advances in the 18th century included the Bernoulli piezometer and Bernoulli's
equation, by Daniel Bernoulli, and the Pitot tube, by Henri Pitot. The 19th century saw
development in groundwater hydrology, including Darcy's law, the Dupuit-Thiem well
formula, and Hagen-Poiseuille's capillary flow equation.
Rational analyses began to replace empiricism in the 20th century, while
governmental agencies began their own hydrological research programs. Of particular
importance were Leroy Sherman's unit hydrograph, the infiltration theory of Robert E.
Horton, and C.V. Theis's aquifer test/equation describing well hydraulics.
Since the 1950s, hydrology has been approached with a more theoretical basis
than in the past, facilitated by advances in the physical understanding of hydrological
processes and by the advent of computers and especially geographic information
systems (GIS).