Ancient inspiration, water and questions - history, drainage & sustainability

With inspiration we move forward, we reflect and take the next step - or at least we are supposed to. As India intends to create its own Disneyland, there are so many roller coasters, theme parks and rides formed unintentionally - as we get water logged with fresh rains of the season, as newly formed roads are weak enough to be uprooted by hands and flyovers with world records are filled to the brim - we are definitely doing something wrong.

There are a lot of things to point fingers at (& we should) - corruption, contractors, cheap labour, cheap materials, lack of civic sense, no talking to the stakeholders - missing governance and the missing ask for it too.

I know I have been reflecting upon ancient wisdom and insights from the forgotten past a lot in the recent editions, but life is about evolution, it is about reaching somewhere - but in this pursuit, we often forget that we also start from somewhere, and evolution also has a phase one. I am a huge fan of history, and I think I might have articulated that before, but in the Chola empire, all the roads and tiny slanting webs at regular intervals for water to seep down, leaving no scope for any waterlogging as we see today. Even if we revisit cities and civilisations that no longer exist, from Dilos to Mohenjodaro, ancient cities or today’s heritage sites have displayed exemplary urban governance - we can definitely take a few notes for our world of today.

One of the most advanced examples is Mohenjo-Daro of the Indus Valley Civilization from 2500 BCE, which had a remarkably sophisticated urban sanitation system. It featured grid-patterned streets with covered brick-lined sewers running beneath them, soak pits, and individual home drains that connected to public drainage systems. The city also had numerous public and private wells, as well as bathing areas, showcasing a deep understanding of hygiene and civic infrastructure.

In Pompeii, the Romans applied their engineering excellence through an elaborate system of aqueducts that brought fresh water from nearby hills to public fountains, baths, and private homes. Water was stored in rooftop tanks or cisterns, and drainage was managed through street-side channels and underground sewers that carried wastewater away from the city. Similar systems were found in Carthage, which also had massive public cisterns and rainwater harvesting facilities, demonstrating the Romans’ adaptability to both water-rich and water-scarce environments.

The Nabataean city of Petra, carved into the desert cliffs of Jordan, had one of the most impressive water management systems in an arid climate. The Nabataeans engineered a network of hidden rock-cut channels, ceramic pipelines, check dams, and large cisterns to collect, store, and distribute rainwater. Their ability to control flash floods and manage seasonal water flow enabled Petra to thrive as a trade hub in the desert. Similarly, Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, utilized qanats—a system of underground tunnels that transported groundwater from nearby mountains—supplemented by stone-lined stormwater drains and clay pipes for managing surface runoff.

In Southeast Asia, the Khmer Empire capital of Angkor, between 9th–15th centuries CE, was built around an extensive hydraulic system that included massive reservoirs known as barays, canals, dikes, and moats. These structures served not only to manage seasonal monsoon floods but also ensured year-round irrigation and water storage, making Angkor one of the largest pre-industrial urban complexes in the world. In Machu Picchu, the Inca integrated water management into their mountainous terrain with remarkable efficiency. A spring located above the site supplied water through a system of stone-built channels, fountains, and over 100 drainage holes embedded in the terraces to prevent erosion and manage heavy rainfall, showcasing deep environmental awareness.

In Teotihuacan, an ancient Mesoamerican city in present-day Mexico, urban planners designed canal networks, reservoirs, and underground drains beneath plazas and avenues, using gravity to move water efficiently across the city. Tikal, a major Mayan city in Guatemala, relied on rainwater harvesting and filtration systems that included sand and clay to purify water collected in large artificial reservoirs. These cities managed without rivers, showcasing their ability to build sustainable urban centers in rainforest conditions.

Knossos, the Minoan capital on the island of Crete, from 2000 BCE, had terracotta aqueducts and clay pipes that transported water from distant springs. The palace had the earliest known flush toilets and bathrooms, with sophisticated plumbing and stormwater drainage. Meanwhile, in Mesopotamia, cities like Ur and Babylon relied on the Tigris-Euphrates river system, constructing vast irrigation canals, levees, and clay pipes for both agricultural use and basic urban sanitation. Nineveh, another Mesopotamian city, featured aqueducts and sewer systems with manholes. Other ancient cities, such as Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia (Turkey), built reservoirs, dams, and aqueducts to bring water from elevated sources, along with open channels to manage stormwater. In Thebes (Waset) in Egypt, water management revolved around the Nile’s annual flood cycle. Egyptians built basin irrigation systems and drainage canals, although less evidence exists of household sanitation infrastructure.

When we look at all these examples, there is one striking similarity - all of these drainage systems or urban management principles were customised and in modern MBA-terms, stakeholder driven. From looking at the cycle of the Nile in Egypt to understanding the frequency of storms and stormwater, all the systems were specific to the region. As understandable it is, that with increased population and industrialisation, keeping everything customised is not really practical, we can still really monitor water management if we want to. Leading with discipline and technique, in Japan, particularly Tokyo, one of the most advanced and expensive drainage infrastructures has been developed to protect the city’s 13 million residents from typhoons and urban flooding. The 3 billion Euro G-Cans Project includes a 4-mile-long underground tunnel, five massive intake shafts, and a 320-foot-long water tank, with powerful turbines pumping floodwater into the Edo River. Similarly, in Saitama (in Japan), towering concrete silos over 200 feet high are used for stormwater storage. In stark contrast, Greece has adapted to limited infrastructure capacity by using narrow 2-inch toilet waste pipes in many homes. To prevent pipe blockages, flushing toilet paper is avoided, and instead, paper is disposed of in bins that are collected daily—a cultural adaptation that suits the infrastructure and maintains hygiene. Meanwhile, simplified sewerage systems offer low-cost, effective sanitation in developing countries such as Brazil, Pakistan, and Honduras. These systems use shallow, narrow pipes laid at flatter gradients and are often installed and managed by the communities themselves. Adapting in its own way, China, responding to rapid urbanization and increased flood risks, has undertaken extensive upgrades since 2013. Its ‘Sponge Cities’ initiative incorporates permeable surfaces, green roofs, and rain gardens to absorb stormwater. These sponge cities are literally green, afforested, ecosystem-integrated cities - livable, breathable and nonclogged.

I am not sure if your socials also show you the kind of content I see, that is, reimagining metropolitan cities of India as green integrated living spaces - with the use of AI visualisation. But why can’t we make these renders come true?

My professor in MBA had this takeaway after every class - ‘ask better questions’. Today, Nitin Gadkari mentioned how it is important for the society to have people who file cases and PILs.

We often forget how important our questions can be. Life is always like a classroom. You and I might have the same doubt, but only because you dared to ask, I got my answer. I realise that long paragraphs about cities that no longer exist, might not hold a lot of value, but it just might make us question.

For any young law maker, educated-aware politician in-waiting, a policy maker, a journalist, or writer, or even just a citizen, if we ask better questions or lead with better conversations - maybe, just maybe we can create change.

With the vision of a better world, all that we always keep working towards, hope is all that we really have.

This article is also published on the author's blog.. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

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