Creating lasting experiences for clients is one of the key driving forces behind the water feature design profession. Water features offer a form of artistic expression that may outlast nearly every other type of human-crafted art. Shaping water—whether through ponds, waterfalls, fountains, streams, canals, aqueducts or lakes—is a high-level craft practiced by societies that have moved beyond mere survival and into the realm of refinement.
From Genesis to the Age of Aquarius
Modern water feature designers are in good company historically. From the very beginning—literally—fountains were part of creation’s grand design, even referenced in the Book of Genesis (Gen 7:11). God’s plan included fountains. The “fountains of the great deep” became something for humanity to contend with. Just ask Noah.
As we spin through the procession of time, today’s water shaping artisans find themselves at the dawn of the Age of Aquarius—an era astrologically tied to the bearer of water. The skies now align with Aquarius, promising a favorable cosmic backdrop for the next 2,000 years of water shaping. But when we peer into the waters of the past, we find some massive shoes to fill. The ancients mastered water feature design at levels of scale and sophistication that continue to challenge and inspire modern artisans.
The historical record is full of water features—both well-known and obscure—dating back thousands of years. Even in prehistoric, pre-biblical eras, archaeological wonders of aquatic engineering emerged. Massive stone basins and channels were carved and placed with a precision that modern machinery would struggle to replicate.
How did they do it? These feats of engineering, often achieved without electricity, power tools or even wheels, beg the question: Was ancient technology more advanced than we’ve been taught to believe? Massive megalithic structures with functional and decorative water displays continue to defy modern understanding.
Myth, Legend and the Search for Immortality
In April 1513, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León became the first documented European to set foot in North America. His purpose? Among other things, he was searching for a legendary fountain from a lost civilization.
Water features also hold a deep place in human myth and religion. We’ve all heard tales of the elusive Fountain of Youth—sought by adventurers and explorers alike.
He left behind the masterful water features of Europe: majestic fountains, canals, and aqueducts found in countries like Germany, Spain, Greece, England, France, Serbia and Italy. One standout example is the Trevi Fountain of Rome, which showcases incredible artistry, design, and engineering—all without modern pumps.
At its peak 2,000 years ago, ancient Rome boasted more than 2,000 fountains and earned its name: the City of Fountains. Today, Kansas City, Missouri, proudly carries that title in the United States.
The Oldest Profession? Water Feature Design
Ancient water features scattered across the globe suggest the profession of water feature design stretches back farther than most assume. While pyramid-building 5,000 years ago was impressive, pyramid-building with pools, canals, basins, and water gardens? That took it to a whole other level.
Recent excavations at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, dating back nearly 12,000 years, revealed basins and rain channels clearly designed for aesthetic and ritual use—predating ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman features by millennia. These discoveries push the origins of water design into a far more ancient context.
Egypt’s Temple of Osireion (circa 1300 B.C.), Jordan’s grand Nymphaeum of Jerash (A.D. 190), and Greece’s ornate Spring of Peirene all now seem like relatively recent additions to a long timeline of hydraulic art.
Water Shaping in the Ancient Americas
While civilizations in the East and Middle East were developing complex water features, their contemporaries in the Americas were doing the same. The Mayans, Incans and Aztecs engineered fish ponds, floating islands, aqueducts, and elaborate canal systems.
In the high elevations of Peru, the Inca city of Machu Picchu holds 16 interconnected fountains built more than 600 years ago. Equally remarkable is the Cumbemayo Aqueduct—an intricate five-mile water distribution system mixing art, spirituality and functionality, carved into stone with zigzagging channels, petroglyphs and ceremonial chambers.
Farther north, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán (present-day Mexico City) featured an extraordinary array of aqueducts, baths, royal aquariums, fountains and water gardens—all fed by mountain springs through a meticulously engineered delivery system.
Water Wisdom Across Asia
The ancient Chinese were also masterful designers of enduring water features. The Daming Palace, constructed in A.D. 600, contained elaborate fountain displays and contemplative garden ponds filled with koi and wildlife. These water environments were designed not just for function but to support long-term peace and reflection.
Japanese water design took on a distinctly spiritual aesthetic, favoring minimalism and symbolism. Rocks stood for mountains. Ponds and moving water represented rivers and lakes. Japanese gardens incorporated bowls, urns, bamboo fountains and naturalistic forms that still influence modern designers.
In ancient India, water design was equally revered. The Taj Mahal, completed in the 1600s, is world-famous not just for its structure but for its integration of lotus fountains, reflecting pools, channels and sprawling water gardens—all meant to evoke paradise. The Taj’s symmetry and reverence for water remain unmatched in landscape design.
A Legacy of Abundance and Intention
Few cultures ignored the design of water once they reached a level of abundance. Designing water features was not a priority for hunter-gatherer societies. When survival was the goal, sharpening a spear took precedence over foaming a waterfall.
But as civilizations stabilized, water shaping became a higher art form. It offered peace, power, wonder and spiritual connection. From sacred basins to extravagant cascades, our collective past tells us this: The design and shaping of water is an intrinsic, timeless human behavior.
The Future Is Fluid
Modern water feature designers—our era’s water bearers—have a rare opportunity to carry forward this 12,000-year-old tradition. With modern tools and historical inspiration, we can continue shaping water to foster beauty, balance and peace for generations to come.
Looking to the past isn’t just an exercise in admiration—it’s a wellspring of inspiration. The ancients didn’t have access to modern materials or machinery, yet they achieved timeless beauty, deep functionality and spiritual resonance through their designs. Today’s pond builders and water feature designers would do well to study these ancient works, not to replicate them, but to reconnect with the values they embodied: harmony with nature, precision in craftsmanship, and reverence for water as a life-giving force. By grounding modern innovation in historical wisdom, we can create features that don’t just last—but truly matter.
The world today needs more harmony. The thoughtful shaping of water may not solve every global issue, but it can create spaces of serenity, healing and connection. Our responsibility as modern artisans is to respect the past and help shape a more peaceful future—one water feature at a time.
About the Author
Mike Gannon, life-long fish and plant hobbyist and 30+year award winning pond professional is the owner of New Jersey-based That Pond Place and Full Service Aquatics. Mike is host of The Koi Pond Watergarden Podcast and author of Love Your Pond blog.
