Abstract

GOMEZ SERRANO, Jesús. Water supply in the town of Aguascalientes: The aqueduct of Cedazo, 1731-1891. Tzintzun. Rev. estud. históricos [online]. 2014, n.59, pp.13-52. ISSN 2007-963X.

This paper presents an approach to the construction history of "saca de agua" or the aqueduct of Cedazo, initiated by the mayor Matías de la Mota in 1731 at a great cost. The discussion starts with a description of how it was founded as a water supply system in the town of Aguascalientes. The works were suspended at the middle of the 18^th century and started again as late as in 1827, during the period of the first federal republic. In 1891, the aqueduct underwent general refurbishment. The present paper describes the different stages of its construction, pointing out the difficulties which emerged in each of them. It is essential to highlight the importance of this work and the way it resulted in a qualitative improvement of the city's water supply. The aqueduct's qanat character is also discussed in the article and therefore also its connection to the ancient building tradition coming from the Near East, which was introduced in America by the Spanish conquerors and colonizers from the 16^th century onwards. The core of this paper is based on original documentation from archives and is a contribution to the studies on environmental history, in particular on water supply and use.

Keywords : water; aqueducts; qanat's; urban water supply; city of Aguascalientes.

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