Acequia technology, developed by Moorish inhabitants of Spain's driest regions, provides a concrete link between Spanish settlements in the Old and New Worlds. It allowed residents of what would become the American Southwest to farm widely and effectively.
In 1719, construction began on the acequia (irrigation ditch) at Mission San Antonio de Valero. The source of the acequia was the San Antonio River near the ford of the "Paso de Tejas" where water was diverted from the river by means of a diversion dam that extended into the stream from its western bank. The acequia served to raise and direct the flow of water toward the eastern bank to a canal intake. It remained in use until 1912.
