Tilapia breeding facility in Jitra, Malaysia

See also https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/42871418470/in/photostream/

Milky river, France

The Doron de Belleville is a river in Savoy (French Alps) that drains large formations of gypsum rocks. Gypsum dissolved in water turns rivers conspicuoulsly milky.

See the white Doron merging with a ‘black’ tributary https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52303442159/in/photostream/

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52302188147/

Gas bottle reused as a water partitioner for domestic water supply in a rural area of Kirghizstan

The 5 outlets have been drilled at the same level in the bottle, to ensure a degree of equity in distribution

Fosse-Dionne karstic spring and wash-house, Tonnerre, France

La Fosse Dionne is one of the largest springs in France, situated in the center of the town of Tonnerre (Burgundy) at the base of a limestone plateau. The town was created around the spring. In 1758 the spring pool was converted into a lavoir with a semi-circular enclosure and a hierarchy of water channels. La Fosse Dionne's annual average flow is 200 liters/s (66 gallons per second). The cave above the spring has been explored to a depth of 200′ deep and a lateral displacement of 1,180′ within underground limestone faults and clay membranes. Exploration is now restricted since three divers have died. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19369174

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52303183373/

Conspicuous groundwater resurgence, Kirghizistan

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52359074206/in/photostream/

And the surrounding landscape https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52358122487/in/photostream/

Corporate bluewashing, UK

Astonishing photo 156

Montenegro's Water Tree

The Dinoša mulberry tree is a mulberry tree in the village of Dinoša, Montenegro, which gushes water from its trunk after heavy rainfall. It is thought that groundwater from a spring forces its way through a cavity in the tree. The phenomenon first occurred in the 1990s, and occurs once a year.

See more at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino%C5%A1a_mulberry_tree

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52219218407/

Source: unusualplaces.org/montenegro-water-tree/

Astonishing photo 157

Dubai love lake

And other photos of the lake https://fr.depositphotos.com/stock-photos/love-lake-dubai.html

Astonishing photo 158

Makeshift water pipe made of welded metal drums, Kyrgyzstan

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52358122382/ 

Astonishing photo 159

Set of pumps at the end of a tertiary canal, Nile delta

This ‘pump sump’ is located at the tail end of a tertiary canal and sources water from a main drain.

Each individual pump has its engine and can pump water to the canal in a rotation.

This compensates for the insufficient supply on the opposite side (canal inlet)

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/36422733094/

 

Astonishing photo 160

Fish farmer transporting a saquia to a workshop, Nile Delta.

Metal saquias are still used to lift water to fishponds because of their high discharge

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/37071091566/

Astonishing photo 161

Underwater hockey

Underwater hockey (UWH), (also known as Octopush in the United Kingdom) is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling it with a hockey stick (or pusher). A key challenge of the game is that players are not able to use breathing devices such as scuba gear whilst playing, they must hold their breath. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_hockey

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52536411869  

Credit: Frédéric Gelot

Astonishing photo 162

Sinkhole in Puebla, Mexico

This spectacular sinkhole, which appeared in 2021, is due to groundwater overabstraction and is a symbol of Mexico's water woes

https://lasillarota.com/nacion/2022/3/22/socavon-en-puebla-simbolo-de-los-problemas-hidricos-de-mexico-dw-362599.html

Astonishing photo 163

Giant ice carousel

A round-shape chunk of frozen ice is cut and set in motion

See a carousel in motion  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Xd0xn7AHs&t=62s

And other carousels https://www.google.com/search?q=ice+carousel&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi10pexldn7AhWwY6QEHfRXCgsQ_AUoAnoECAIQBA&biw=1696&bih=755&dpr=1.13

https://gregcookland.com/wonderland/2018/04/21/mainers-create-worlds-largest-so-they-say-ice-merry-go-round/;

Astonishing photo 164

Magnificent braided river, New Zealand

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braided_river

Source: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/troubled-waters/

Astonishing photo 165

"Careos" in Spain, sowing and harvesting water

Moors in Granada Spain, developed a technique consisting in conveying and spreading water over the landscape in order to recharge aquifers and benefit from baseflow during the dry season.

This is similar to the amunas found in Peru. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nHSK6vqKIo

Source: https://theconversation.com/la-siembra-de-agua-una-tecnica-milenaria-eficaz-para-enfrentarse-a-la-sequia-191971

Astonishing photo 166

Pancuran Tujuh (Seven Springs) in Banyumas, Central Java, Indonesia

The hot spring and its sulfuric waters are considered to have healing properties

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancuran_Tujuh

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/51108306655/

Credit: Wikimedia/By Crisco 1492 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39220154

Astonishing photo 167

Water wheel, Red River Basin, Vietnam. Late 1990s.

This homemade water wheel is moved by the flow in the irrigation canal and lifts water up to the paddy fields.

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/37666908236/

Credit: François Molle

Astonishing photo 168

Garbage accumulating at the end of a branch canal, Nile Delta, Egypt

The limited solid waste collection in the delta implies that much of it ends up in waterways

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/37088601022/

Credit: François Molle

Astonishing photo 169

Mobile pumping operators in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

The Mekong Delta is crisscrossed with waterways.

In the upper part of the delta, large poldered areas have intensified and need extra input of water. They resort to mobile private operators on boat who provide high-discharge pumping services at the point required.

Late 1990s.

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/37132940061/

Credit: François Molle

Astonishing photo 170

Siphons on El Bustan canal, Nile delta, Egypt

Al Bustan Canal branches off Nubaria Canal on the western side of the Nile Delta. It irrigates so called 'new lands'.

The picture shows siphons laid by farmers to divert water to non-command areas on both sides of the canal.

Although visible to all, these siphons are illegal…

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/37262140795/

Credit: François Molle

Astonishing photo 171

Water drum festival

Miao people perform the Shuigu (water drum) Dance in the water in Jianhe county, Southwest China's Guizhou province

Folklorized version (video): People perform the Shuigu (water drum) Dance in the water in Jianhe county, Southwest China's Guizhou province, perform Shuigu Dance during a local cultural festival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIcqMYb3Koc 

Credit: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2011-07/07/content_16979715_5.htm

Astonishing photo 172

Fort Worth Water Gardens, Texas, USA

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52684545576/ 

Credit: Bradi Korte, https://www.flickr.com/photos/branditressler/39844715001/ 

Astonishing photo 173

Levada nova, Madeira

The island of Madeira is known for its ancient irrigation systems.

Here the canal (covered with concrete plates) follows the contour line and is excavated in the rock.

It intersects a cascade

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52536675918/ 

Credit: Andrew Walker @Flickr

Astonishing photo 174

Swallowing wells, Ghardaia, Algeria

In Ghardaia oasis some 'swallowing wells' are equipped with inlets: if the flood depth in the valley is higher than 30 cm, then it will enter the inlet and recharge the well and the aquifer.

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52535633802/

Credit: M Amine Saidani

Astonishing photo 175

Kiyal, Algeria

In Tittaf oasis, near Adrar, Algeria, this water master ('kiyal') is showing the instrument used to measure and apportion flows in oases, locally called 'shiqfa'.

the cumulated discharge of given sets of holes are allocated to corresponding distribution canals, according to water rights:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/38289762881/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/38234932446

Image in original resolution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/26514323209

Astonishing photo 176

The solar-canal solution, tested in California.

About 4,000 miles of canals transport water to some 35 million Californians and 5.7 million acres of farmland across the state. As we explained in a 2021 study, covering these canals with solar panels would reduce evaporation of precious water – one of California’s most critical resources – and help meet the state’s renewable energy goals, while also saving money

Credit: https://theconversation.com/first-solar-canal-project-is-a-win-for-water-energy-air-and-climate-in-california-177433  

Astonishing photo 177

Water pipe made out of wood, Bolivia

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52710674591/

Credit: Pierre Chevallier

Astonishing photo 178

Restaurant on the Kibune River, near Kyoto, Japan

The Kibune River, north of Kyoto, if famous for its restaurants built on the river bed in order to enjoy a cool atmosphere.

This idea can also be found in other countries, such as Kyrgyzstan https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52359384754/

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52313915472/

Credit: Wikimedia

Astonishing photo 179

Fog collectors in the Cumbre Nueva, La Palma, Spain

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/51707987193/

Credit: Credit: Wikipedia  

Astonishing photo 180

Offerings for good waters, India

At the mercy of sudden dam releases, the people of the Ramganga continue to pray to the river for a suitable harvest

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/51876611362/

 Credit: Flickr@India water Portal 

Astonishing photo 181

Priests sit inside water barrels as they perform special prayers in order to appease Varun, the Hindu rain god

in Sankara mutt at Matunga in Mumbai, India

Credit: https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/how-india-tries-to-please-the-rain-gods-pics-159173.html?picid=783083
 

Astonishing photo 182

Water as protection

Gravensteen, a medieval castle that dates back to 1180 which was subsequently re-purposed as a court, prison,
mint, cotton factory and now a museum located in the historic city center of Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium.

Astonishing photo 183

The spring of Armentières and its protection

Half of the water supplied to Paris comes from springs.

The spring of Armentières was developed between 1861 and 1867 by the engineer Eugène Belgrand at the request of the prefect Haussmann who wanted to tap healthy and pure water for Paris.

The water takes three days to reach Paris through a 156 km long aqueduct.

https://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/paris-livre-la-bataille-de-l-eau-au-milieu-des-champs-23-05-2016-5822273.php

Credit: https://www.eaudeparis.fr/dou-vient-leau-de-paris

Astonishing photo 184

Helical Stepwell, Maharashtra, India

Unique "Helical Stepwell" in Walur Village, Selu Taluka in Parbhani District of Maharashtra (India) with Spiral Steps from 8 Sides leading to the Well Shaft and 8 Devakoshta (Niches) above the steps.
A massive cleanliness drive was recently done by locals of Walur Village to bring this Stepwell to Glory.

Credit: Rohan Kale Ji, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2835993176546525&set=a.390759174403283

Astonishing photo 185

Piping drainage water to the desert, Egypt

Egypt is claiming to be building the “largest artificial river in the world”, a 114 km long canal-cum-pipe system conveying drainage water from Alexandria to a wastewater treatment plant located to the west of the delta.

The project is expected to cost 5 billion euros and its waters to contribute, together with groundwater, to the irrigation of around one million ha in the desert, the so-called ‘New delta” project.

Credit: https://www.elaosboa.com/789283/

Astonishing photo 186

Rendering of a planned (and contested) fish-pass, California, USA

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-17/newsom-touts-plan-for-60-million-fishway-along-yuba-river

Astonishing photo 187

Ma’dan (Marsh Arabs) reed houses, Iraq

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Arabs

See the photo with original resolution : https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52940631319 

Credit: Corbis: Nik Wheeler

Astonishing photo 188

Free-lunch at pipe leakage, Cambodia

This pipe leakage in Phnom Penh was readily used by locals as a temporary car wash.

See the photo with original resolution  :https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52940484656

Credit: Sylvain Massuel

Astonishing photo 189

Old Pottery pipes, Mesopotamia

British archaeologist Leonard Woolley and his wife Katharine in front of pottery pipes that were part of what's considered the first water drainage system in history (pre 4000 bc) in the ancient  Mesopotamian city of Ur. 1930.

“Katharine Woolley was an archaeologist, like her husband, and shared with him the work of excavation at Ur of the Chaldees, at Al Mina, on the North Syrian coast, and at Atchana (Alalakh), in the Hatay, until the outbreak of war. She was jointly responsible with him for the report published in 1939 on the Archaeological Survey of India. From 1943 onwards, when he was appointed archaeological adviser to the War Office, she was his assistant. In spite of illness, constant pain, and growing weakness, she carried on her work there until two days before her death, which came on November 8. Men and women of many Eastern European countries, refugees after the last war, have reason to remember her sympathy and her vitality. To none will she always be so alive as to the Arab diggers with whom she worked for 15 years." quoted from Wikipedia

Astonishing photo 190

Dye tracer test in Vieille Folle cave, France

Dye is added to water to study the underground circulation and pathways of water in karst systems.

See the photo with original resolution  : www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52940952563

Credit: Aurélien Vallet

Astonishing photo 191

Creux-Billard, Karst features at Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne, France

This fascinating site includes a cascade from a stream and a karstic spring, which both feed  an aven (sinkhole) where water goes underground again before reemerging further downstream as the spring of the Lison River. It is a textbook illustration of the multiple circulations between surface an groundwater.

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52940490231/

Credit: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creux_Billard

Astonishing photo 192

Washing dye out after work, India

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/51877651828/

Credit: Flickr@India water Portal/Supriya Biswas

Astonishing photo 193

Samacha Kewa festival floating altars in irrigation canals, Nepal

During Samachakewa, a popular festival of Tharu people in Nepal, altars are realeased in rivers but also in irrigation canals.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sama_Chakeva

Credit: Olivia Aubriot

Astonishing photo 194

Rainwater harvesting by roofs in Bermuda

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52684826349/

Credits: Acroterion, upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Bermuda

Astonishing photo 195

Roman dam, Syria

Dating back to the 1st or 2nd century is dam is located on the road from Damascus to Palmyra

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/52710934899/ 

Credit: Pierre Chevallier

Astonishing photo 196

The Mitchell River silt jetties, Victoria, Australia

The Mitchell River silt jetties are an unusually long, thin landform in the Gippsland Lakes region in Victoria, Australia. A type of digitate delta, they have been formed over thousands of years by sediment deposition from the Mitchell River during periods of low water flow and subsequent wash-through during periods of high water flow. The long narrow banks of silt thus formed extend more than eight kilometres east into Lake King. The south bank is navigable by car from Eagle Point through to the very easternmost tip at Point Dawson.

Credit: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=676695734498917&set=a.409907994511027 

Astonishing photo 197

Craig-Goch Dam spilling, Wales, UK

The Craig Goch Dam, often called the Top dam, is a masonry dam in the Elan Valley of Wales and creates the upper-most of the Elan Valley Reservoirs.

Construction on the dam began in 1897, and it was completed in 1904. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Goch_Dam

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/53140626498

Credit: Public Domain (Pxfuel)

Astonishing photo 198

Guelta of Timia, Niger

A guelta (Arabic: قلتة, also transliterated qalta or galta; Berber: agelmam) is a pocket of water that forms in drainage canals or wadis in the Sahara. The size and duration will depend on the location and conditions. It may last year-round through the dry season if fed by a source such as a spring. When a river (wadi) dries up, there may be pockets of water remaining along its course (c.f. oxbow lake).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guelta

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/51708596700/

Credit: Wikipedia

Astonishing photo 199

Water Mill in Balkh System, Afghanistan

This ‘battery’ of hydraulic mills is reminiscent of another famous milling complex from Roman times: the Barbegal milling complex (‘la plus grande meunerie de l’antiquité’), near Arles, France, with two sets of 8 vertical mills.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqueduc_et_moulins_de_Barbegal#/media/Fichier:Model_of_the_Barbegal_mill,_Mus%C3%A9e_de_l'Arles_antique_(15022060149).jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbegal_aqueduct_and_mills; http://www.pascalblachier.com/2017/03/aqueduc-romain-de-barbegal.html

https://www.departement13.fr/nous-decouvrir/la-petite-histoire-du-departement/un-site-industriel-dans-lantiquite-romaine-les-moulins-de-barbegal/

Credit: Source lost

Astonishing photo 200

Cenote Ik Kil in Yucatan, Mexico

A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The term originated on the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where cenotes were commonly used for water supplies by the ancient Maya, and occasionally for sacrificial offerings. The term derives from a word used by the lowland Yucatec Maya—tsʼonoʼot—to refer to any location with accessible groundwater. More on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenote

More fascinating cenotes in Yucatan: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=559959589&q=cenote&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOsoG__feAAxWKdqQEHTgsDf0Q0pQJegQICBAB&biw=1920&bih=937&dpr=1

See the photo with original resolution  https://www.flickr.com/photos/gameoflight/8682569574

Credit: Boris G @Flickr

Astonishing photo 201

How a homemade levee saved an Arkansas home during a Mississippi flood in May 2011

Source:  https://x.com/tradingMaxiSL/status/1829664000524894440/photo/1

Astonishing photo 202

Glaciers' demise

Meltwater flows from the Bråsvellbreen glacier in Svalbard, Norway, in July. This year was the second warmest on record in the Arctic.

Source: https://e360.yale.edu/digest/extreme-weather-photos ; Greenpeace

Astonishing photo 203

The aftermath of floods in Valencia, Spain, 2024

Floods killed more than 200 people across the region. Scientists determined that climate change doubled the odds of such heavy rainfall.

Source: Gabriel Gallo / Greenpeace; https://e360.yale.edu/digest/extreme-weather-photos

Astonishing photo 204

Magic water bottles (Spain)

An urban legend has it that water bottles discourage dogs from urinating on the house walls or plants.

Source: François Molle

Astonishing photo 205

Modified Sapotillo Dam, Mexico

If too high, a dam floods villages and valuable land; if too low it retains little water. This dam has been retrofitted after social movements obtained that a new spillway would be 'dug' in the dam at an intermediate height.

"Paradigm lost: On the value of lost causes in transforming cities and water systems’ development pathways" by Jonatan Godinez Madrigal, tells the story: https://ihedelftrepository.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/phd1/id/60465/rec/1

See also

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210422424000285

https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol10/v10issue2/359-a10-2-9/file

Photo with higher resolution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/54567453663

Credit: Pieter van der Zaag

Astonishing photo 206

Mesmerizing Fountain designed by Chad Knight, Japan

Watch the video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HDmdQtk2EQ

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/U-z1zGjuFqg

Photo with higher resolution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/54537706983

Credit: https://creapills.com/chad-knight-fontaines-feminines-surrealistes-20181024

Astonishing photo 207

This canal-bridge (Aquaduct Veluwemeer) connects two parts of the Veluwemeer (Veluwe Lake). It goes over the highway which connects the provinces of Flevoland and Gelderland and is located near the city of Harderwijk. https://www.bestwondertrip.com/best-wonders/196-top-10-most-amazing-water-bridges-in-the-world.html 

Astonishing photo 208

Floating wetland & homegarden, Washington, USA

Credit: The Wharf’s 7th Street Park and Recreation Pier https://landezine-award.com/the-wharfs-7th-street-park-and-recreation-pier

Astonishing photo 209

Conspicuous pipes, Berlin, Germany

When excavating for the foundation of a new building, it is necessary to dewater the soil by pumping groundwater out. Temporary pipes are laid to convey water all the way to the drainage system.

More pipes:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/53621143383/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/53621383720/

Higher resolution photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/54536589892

Credit: E.Molle

Astonishing photo 210

Surface irrigation on steep slopes for the cultivation of lettuce in the Chambo Guano irrigation system, Chimborazo province, Ecuador

https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/28986259558/

Credit: Jaime Hoogesteger.