In ancient Rome, the water supply system was managed by officials known as curatores aquarum. These were senators of consular rank, appointed by the emperor, responsible for overseeing the construction, maintenance and operation of the city’s aqueducts and water distribution networks. Their duties also included enforcing water laws, preventing illegal connections and resolving disputes related to access to water.
The curatores aquarum had a team of workers, including technicians, architects and engineers, as well as a large number of public slaves who performed the physical work associated with maintaining the water infrastructure.
One of the most famous curatores aquarum was Sextus Julius Frontinus, who took up this position in 97 CE and left behind a treatise “De aquaeductu urbis Romae”, in which he described in detail the water supply system of Rome and his efforts to improve it.
It is worth adding that the Romans used various mechanisms, including valves and distributors, to regulate the flow of water in aqueducts, which allowed them to control the distribution of water to different parts of the city.
