The first centrally planned initiative to secure water for irrigation and control flooding in the Cauvery river basin, India, dates to c. 200 CE when Karikal Cholan constructed the Grand Anicut. The irrigation infrastructure was extended by British military engineers in the nineteenth century when several large barrages and regulators were constructed. In the twentieth century, water demand increased in those parts of the Cauvery basin in the Princely State of Mysore (now in Karnataka) and the Madras Presidency (now in Tamil Nadu). Disagreement between the states over water use was partially resolved by the agreements of 1892 and 1924. Two impressive reservoirs, the Krishnarajasagar in Mysore and the Mettur in the Madras Presidency, were then constructed on the Cauvery river; other smaller reservoirs were built on its tributaries. By 1972 over 1·2 Mha were being irrigated from the Cauvery. Rapid expansion of the irrigable areas, however, renewed the dispute over the use of the Cauvery waters. In 1990, the Cauvery water disputes tribunal was constituted but, despite its rulings, disagreements re-emerge in dry years. The history of the development of water resources in the Cauvery river basin is described in this paper.

In the period 1859–1941 the New Zealand governments built 38 major lighthouses; 30 of these were constructed during the period 1865–1897. Despite New Zealand's limited industrial base at the time, these usually represented the latest technology because New Zealand's lighthouse authorities drew directly on the existing Scottish technology. D. & T. Stevenson and its successor firms were retained as consulting engineers, firms including Milne & Son, James Dove, Chance Bros, and French glass makers manufactured lanterns and apparatus to Scottish designs, and Scottish firms supplied stores. The New Zealand lighthouse service was based on the Northern Lighthouse Board model.

Calver weir lies at the centre of a stretch of the River Derwent in North Derbyshire, UK, which is locally renowned for its attractive natural appeal. The weir creates the high-level upstream river and the resulting wetlands. The weir was built in the eighteenth century to provide water to power a mill. In the twentieth century some repairs were carried out but these subsequently failed, leaving the weir in a dangerous condition. A company, called the Calver Weir Restoration Project, was set up to restore the weir. This paper describes the weir, the problems encountered, solutions and the reconstruction works and amenities for water voles around the side of the fish pass.

The Marathon dam was built by American contractor Ulen & Company from 1926–1929 to provide water for Athens. The water was delivered to the Galatsi water treatment plant through the 13·4 km long Boyati tunnel and was an important milestone in the technological advancement of modern Greece. This gravity dam is 54 m tall and 285 m long and impounds a reservoir with a capacity of 41 000 000 m³, and was one of the largest construction projects in Europe at the time. Designed and built by a firm based in New York, the Marathon dam was by no means a purely American product: Greek engineers played key roles in all aspects of its planning, design and construction. The history of the Marathon dam thus illustrates that large engineering projects in countries deemed to be located on the edge of the developed world are seldom mono-faceted processes comprising an active ‘transmitter’ and a passive ‘receptor’. The authors conclude that new insights and substantial reappraisals of engineering projects can emerge if historians of technology consider them as examples of active cooperation between technologically more advanced and less developed nations, rather than assuming they consist only of one-directional technological transfer.

Arthur Brome Wilson (1866–1944) was a civil engineer with a special interest in canals. This paper records his life including his genealogy, training, career both in the UK and in North and Central America and his specialist military service (1918–1922). His major project in the UK involved extensive repairs to the Thames–Severn Canal in Gloucestershire in 1901–1905. Owned at the time by Gloucestershire County Council, extensive records and correspondence for this project survive and have been consulted by the authors. Wilson pioneered the use of concrete for lining the canal summit, particularly for construction of the Sapperton Tunnel where geological challenges led to extensive leakages. The paper demonstrates some of the difficulties in researching a little-known peripatetic engineer and illustrates the professional challenges faced by an independent civil engineer during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Until 1770 England had a huge road network making use of medieval bridges. Now, only about 100 major medieval bridges survive. Although no accurate survey has yet been undertaken, it is estimated that over 80% of the major medieval bridges were demolished during the period 1770–1830. The paper looks at the reasons for this widespread demolition programme. The pattern of demolition was varied: over some rivers most medieval bridges were replaced; over others, many remain. Apart from a poor state of repair, the main reason for demolition was that they were inadequate for new wheeled transport. However, many bridges could have been repaired and widened, as some indeed were. Many were demolished because of a shift in attitudes – a desire for modern, fashionable structures. Only in the 1870s did the option to preserve and restore old bridges start to gain popularity and few ancient bridges have been demolished since that time. This study of the post-medieval history of ancient bridges provides valuable insights and background knowledge for civil engineers dealing with old bridges.