A cistern (Middle English Middle English is the name given by historical linguists to the diverse forms of the English language in use between the late 11th century and about 1470, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the late 1470s cisterne, from Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native speakers, a small number of scholars can fluently speak it and it continues to be taught in schools and universities and has been, and currently is, used in the process of cisterna, from cista, box, from Greek Greek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical ancient Greek literature and the New Testament of kistê, basket) [1] is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Often cisterns are built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump . It can also be drawn up using containers, such as buckets, that are raised by their waterproof linings. Modern cisterns range in capacity from a few litres to thousands of cubic metres, effectively forming covered reservoirs A reservoir is an artificial lake used to store water. Reservoirs are often created by building a reinforced dam, usually out of concrete, earth, rock, or a mixture across a river or stream. Once the dam is completed, the stream fills the reservoir. When a reservoir is predominantly man-made it may be called a cistern. The term reservoir is also.
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Earliest cisterns
Waterproof lime plaster Non-hydraulic lime can only set through carbonation . It is often sold in builder's merchants as 'bagged' or hydrated lime or is available as lime putty (or as quicklime to be made into lime putty), lime putty generally being considered more suitable for pure lime application. Non-hydraulic lime is the most commonly used and known lime, also cisterns in the floors of houses are features of Neolithic The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age. The Neolithic followed the terminal Holocene Epipalaeolithic period, beginning with the rise of farming, which produced the " village sites of the Levant The Levant (Arabic: بلاد الشام Bilād aš-Šām, also known as Arabic: المشرق al-Māšriq, am-Māšriq) describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly at, for instance, Ramad and Lebwe,[2] and by the late fourth millennium BCE, as at Jawa in northeastern Lebanon, cisterns are essential elements of emerging water management techniques in dry-land farming communities.[3]
Creating and using cisterns
Cisterns are commonly used in areas where water is scarce, either because it is rare or because it has been depleted due to heavy use. Early on, the water was used for many purposes including cooking, irrigation Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants, and washing. Present day cisterns are often only used for irrigation due to concerns over water quality. Cisterns today can also be outfitted with filters A water filter removes impurities from water by means of a fine physical barrier, a chemical process or a biological process. Filters cleanse water to various extents for irrigation, drinking water, aquariums, and swimming pools or other water purification Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from raw water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose. Most water is purified for human consumption but water purification may also be designed for a variety of other purposes, including meeting the requirements of medical, methods when the water is meant for consumption. It is not uncommon for cisterns to be open in some way in order to catch rain Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops of water heavy or to include more elaborate rain-catching systems. It is recommended in these cases to have a system that does not leave the water open to mosquitoes Mosquito is a common insect in the family Culicidae (from the Latin culex meaning midge or gnat). Mosquitoes resemble crane flies (family Tipulidae) and chironomid flies (family Chironomidae), with which they are sometimes confused by the casual observer or algae Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. The US Algal Collection is represented by almost 300,000 accessioned and inventoried herbarium specimens. The largest and most complex marine forms are called, which are attracted to the water and then potentially carry disease to nearby humans.
Some cisterns sit on the top of houses or on the ground higher than the house, and supply the running water needs for the house. They are often supplied not by rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of rainwater. Rainwater harvesting has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation or to refill aquifers in a process called groundwater recharge. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses, tents and local institutions, or from specially, but by wells A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump . It can also be drawn up using containers, such as buckets, that are raised with electric pumps A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as gases, liquids or slurries. A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. One common misconception about pumps is the thought that they create pressure. Pumps alone do not create pressure; they only displace fluid, causing a flow. Adding resistance to flow causes pressure. Pumps fall, or are filled by manual labor or by truck delivery. Very common throughout Brazil, for instance, they were traditionally made of concrete walls (much like the houses, themselves), with a similar concrete top (about 5 cm. thick), with a piece that can come out for water filling and be re-inserted to keep out debris Debris is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc. The singular form of debris is debris. Depending on context, debris can refer to a number of different things and insects. Modern cisterns are manufactured of plastic (in Brazil with a characteristic bright blue color, round, in capacities of about 10k and 50k liters). These cisterns differ from water tanks Water tanks are liquid storage containers, these tanks are usually storing water for human consumption. The need for water tank systems is as old as civilized man. A water tank provides for the storage of drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming and livestock, chemical manufacturing, food preparation as well in the sense that they are not completely enclosed and sealed with one form, rather they have a lid made of the same material as the cistern, which is removable by the user.
To keep a clean water supply, the cisterns must be kept clean. It is recommended to inspect them regularly, keep them well-enclosed, and to occasionally empty them and clean them with an appropriate dilution of chlorine Chlorine (pronounced /ˈklɔriːn/ KLOR-een, from the Greek word 'χλωρóς' (khlôros, meaning 'pale green'), is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is a halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17 (formerly VII, VIIa, or VIIb). As the chloride ion, which is part of common salt and other compounds, it is abundant and to rinse them well. Well water must be inspected for contaminants coming from the ground source. City water has up to 1ppm (parts per million) chlorine added to the water to keep it clean, and in many areas can be ordered to be delivered directly to the cistern by truck (a typical price in Brazil is BRL$50, USD$20 for 10k liters). If there is any question about the water supply at any point (source to tap), then the cistern water should not be used for drinking or cooking. If it is of acceptable quality and consistency, then it can be used for (1) toilets A toilet is a plumbing fixture primarily intended for the disposal of human excreta: urine and fecal matter. Additionally, vomit and menstrual waste are sometimes disposed of in toilets in some societies. The word toilet describes the fixture and, especially in British English, the room containing the fixture. In American English, the latter is, and housecleaning; (2) showers and handwashing; (3) washing dishes, with appropriate sanitation methods, and for the highest quality, (4) cooking and drinking. Water of non-acceptable quaility for the before mentioned uses may still be used for irrigation. If it is free of particulates but not low enough in bacteria The bacteria ( [bækˈtɪəriə] ; singular: bacterium)[α] are a large group of single-celled, prokaryote microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste,, then boiling may also be an effective means to prepare the water for drinking.
Many greenhouses A greenhouse is a structure with a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming visible solar radiation from the sun is absorbed by plants, soil, and other things inside the building. Glass is transparent to this radiation. The warmed structures and plants inside the greenhouse re-radiate this energy in use cisterns to help meet their water needs, especially in the USA. Some countries or regions, such as Bermuda and the U.S. Virgin Islands have laws that require rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of rainwater. Rainwater harvesting has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation or to refill aquifers in a process called groundwater recharge. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses, tents and local institutions, or from specially systems to be built alongside any new construction, and cisterns can be used in these cases. Other countries, such as Japan, Germany and Spain, also offer financial incentives or tax credit for installing cisterns. Cisterns may also be used to store water for firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing destructive fires. A firefighter fights these fires to prevent destruction of life, property and the environment. Firefighting is a highly technical skill that requires that professionals have years of training and education to become proficient in areas where there is an inadequate water supply Water supply is the process of self-provision or provision by third parties in the water industry, commonly a public utility, of water resources of various qualities to different users. Irrigation is covered separately.
For bathing
In some southeast Asian Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity countries such as Malaysia ^ b. The current terminology as per government policy is Bahasa Malaysia but legislation continues to refer to the official language as Bahasa Melayu (literally Malay language). English may continue to be used for some official purposes under the National Language Act 1967, showers A shower is an area in which one bathes underneath a spray of water. People very commonly use soap and shampoo while showering are traditionally taken by pouring water over one's body with a dipper (this practice comes from before piped water Water supply is the process of self-provision or provision by third parties in the water industry, commonly a public utility, of water resources of various qualities to different users. Irrigation is covered separately was common). Many bathrooms even in modern houses are constructed with a small cistern to hold water for bathing by this method.
The toilet
The modern water closet A flush toilet is a toilet that disposes of human waste by using water to flush it through a drainpipe to another location. Flushing mechanisms are found more often on western toilets , but many squat toilets also are made for automated flushing. Modern toilets incorporate an 'S','U', 'J', or 'P' shaped bend that causes the water in the toilet or toilet A toilet is a plumbing fixture primarily intended for the disposal of human excreta: urine and fecal matter. Additionally, vomit and menstrual waste are sometimes disposed of in toilets in some societies. The word toilet describes the fixture and, especially in British English, the room containing the fixture. In American English, the latter is utilises a cistern to reserve and hold the correct amount of water required to flush the toilet bowl. In earlier toilets, the cistern was located high above the toilet bowl and connected to it by a long pipe. It was necessary to pull a hanging chain connected to a release valve located inside the cistern in order to flush the toilet. Modern toilets may be close coupled, with the cistern mounted directly on the toilet bowl and no intermediate pipe. In this arrangement, the flush mechanism (lever or push button) is usually mounted on the cistern. Concealed cistern toilets, where the cistern is built into the wall behind the toilet, are also available. A flushing trough Flushing troughs are commonly used in places such as schools, colleges, public toilets, factories and public buildings where quick refill of the flushing cistern is required. Siphonic action is started in the same way as an ordinary flushing cistern and as the water is siphoned, the water level falls only inside a timing box designed to permit the is a type of cistern used to serve more than one WC A flush toilet is a toilet that disposes of human waste by using water to flush it through a drainpipe to another location. Flushing mechanisms are found more often on western toilets , but many squat toilets also are made for automated flushing. Modern toilets incorporate an 'S','U', 'J', or 'P' shaped bend that causes the water in the toilet pan at one time. These cisterns are becoming less common however. The cistern was the genesis of the modern bidet A bidet is a low-mounted plumbing fixture or type of sink intended for washing the genitalia, inner buttocks, and anus. Originally a French word, in English bidet is pronounced /bɨˈdeɪ/ or /ˈbiːdeɪ/ (UK).
Famous cisterns
- Basilica Cistern The Basilica Cistern , is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), Turkey. The cistern, located South West of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in Istanbul, Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace (Rumelia) in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the
- Cistern in El Jadida El Jadida is a port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, in the province of El Jadida. It has a population of 144,440 (2004 census). From the sea, El Jadida has a very un-Moorish appearance; it has massive Portuguese walls of hewn stone, Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية, al-Mamlakah al-Maġribiyya), is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of nearly 39 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed Western Sahara which is mainly under Moroccan administration. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that
- Cistern in Silves, Portugal Portugal /ˈpɔɹtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, Mirandese: Pertual), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa; Mirandese: República Pertuesa), is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and
- Matera Matera listen is a town and a province in the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Matera
See also
- Ab Anbar An āb anbār آب انبار is a traditional reservoir or cistern of drinking water in Persian antiquity. The Persian phrase literally translates as "water reservoir"
- Rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of rainwater. Rainwater harvesting has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation or to refill aquifers in a process called groundwater recharge. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses, tents and local institutions, or from specially
- Rainwater tank A rainwater tank is a water tank which is used to collect and store rain water runoff, typically from rooftops via rain gutters. Rainwater tanks are devices for collecting and maintaining harvested rain
- Step well Stepwells, also called bawdi or baoli (Hindi: बावली), are wells in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps. They may be covered and protected, and are often of architectural significance. It can be multi-storied also in which a bullock turns the water wheel ("Rehant") to raise the water in the well to the
- Water tank Water tanks are liquid storage containers, these tanks are usually storing water for human consumption. The need for water tank systems is as old as civilized man. A water tank provides for the storage of drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming and livestock, chemical manufacturing, food preparation as well
References
- ^ Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1990 edition, etymology of "cistern".
- ^ Robert Miller, "Water use in Syria and Palestine from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age", World Archaeology, 2.3 (February 1980:331-341) p. 334.
- ^ N. Roberts, "Water conservation in ancient Arabia", Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 7. (1977:134-46).
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cistern |
- The Homestead Cistern, instructions on building a cistern.
- Difference between rain barrels and harvesting systems
- Build Your Own Rain Barrel
- La Raccolta delle Acque Matera - A perfect sample of water collection systems
Categories: Plumbing Categories: Building materials | Construction | Fluid dynamics | Water | Building engineering | Water supply infrastructure | Water conservation | Archaeological features
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