There is also evidence of ancient Egyptian pharaohs of the twelfth dynasty using the natural lake of the Fayûm as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during the dry seasons, as the lake swelled annually as caused by the annual flooding of the Nile. Ancient visitors reported the appearance of "an artificial excavation, as reported by classic geographers and travellers" (CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Egypt: I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Flora and Agriculture).

Developed in ancient Persia the Qanat is among the oldest known irrigation methods developed and still used today. 'Qanats are constructed as a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels.' meaning that the receiving populus was always lower than the source, the source being higher and connected to these Qanats which had many exit points for the water (vertical shafts)at villages and pastures.

Irrigation Works of Ancient Sri Lanka were one of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world, the sinhalese managed to build major irrigation schemes to support the agriculture which thrived at the time. The sinhalese civilization is responsible for the invention of valve pit which remains unchanged to-date. Highly complex use of trignometry and other engineering aspects such as soil mechanics, built envioroment had been used for the construction of these schemes.King Parakrama Bahu (1153–1186 AD) had been responsible for the construction or the restoration of 165 dams, 3910 canals, 163 major tanks (reservoirs) and 2376 minor tanks, all in a reign of 33 years.

In the Zana Valley of the Andes Mountains in Peru, archaeologists found remains of 3 irrigation canals radiocarbon dated from the 4th millennium BC, the 3rd millennium BC and the 9th century. These canals are the earliest record of irrigation in the New World. Traces of a canal possibly dating from the 5th millennium BC were found under the 4th millennium canal.(Dillehay, et al., 2005)

The Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and North India (from circa 2600 BC) also had an early canal irrigation system. [1]

By the middle of the 20th century, the advent of diesel and electric motors led for the first time to systems that could pump groundwater out of major aquifers faster than it was recharged. This can lead to permanent loss of aquifer capacity, decreased water quality, ground subsidence, and other problems. The future of food production in such areas as the North China Plain, the Punjab, and the Great Plains of the US is threatened.