clipped from: watervideo.com   

A Journey in the History of Water tells the dramatic story of how the struggle for fresh water has shaped human society to a remarkable extent. This series brings the viewer to about 20 countries all over the world and shows in fascinating variety how people have coped with what is societies' lifeblood - water.

I. The Struggle
No society can exist, not even for one day, without fresh water. This program takes the viewer from unique scenes in the Himalayas, where a sterile expanse of rock has been transformed into an oasis, to the Borana people of southern Ethiopia, who manually draw water for 300,000 people and a million head of cattle from deep, hidden wells. The ancient civilisation of the Nile valley is contrasted with the highly sophisticated methods of irrigation employed by farmers in California. We then progress via the aqueducts and beautiful fountains of Imperial Rome to the old land of the Aztecs and their water civilisation, where today the world's largest metropolis, Mexico City, is sinking due to overuse of groundwater.
IV. The Conflicts
Many argue that future conflicts will be conflicts over fresh water. Others argue that the water question will encourage co-operation. This programme takes the viewer from the desert city, Las Vegas, where urban history rests not only on the casinos, but om water control. Then it proceeds to Lake Victoria in the heart of Africa, to the wonderful Blue Nile falls in Ethiopia, to the greatest swamp in the world in Southern Sudan and to Egypt, to tell the story of past water conflicts on a grand scale. This is followed by a presentation of the water issue in the Israeli-Arab conflict. Then the viewer is taken to a little-known institution - one of the oldest court still functioning in Europe - the water tribunal in Valencia, Spain. The series ends in the deserts of Oman, bringing the viewer to deep underground canals made more than two thousands years ago and to a water auction!