The Romans built the first aqueduct more than 2,000 years ago. Designed to carry fresh water to Roman cities and to dispose gray water into sewers they were an engineering marvel, and made the acquisition of water easier for the common man. One thousand years later, amongst years of drought, a man in Palermo, Sicily, developed an aqueduct to bring drinking water to his community. The people were so grateful they began calling him Mr. Bevilacqua, which means Drinkwater in Italian.