Infrastructure
No study of the missions would be complete without some discussion of their extensive water supply systems. Stone aqueducts, sometimes spanning miles, brought fresh water from a river or spring to the mission site. Baked clay pipes, joined with lime mortar or bitumen, carried the water into reservoirs and gravity-fed fountains, and emptied into waterways where the force of the water would be used to turn grinding wheels, presses, and other simple machinery. Water brought to the mission proper would be used for cooking, cleaning, irrigation of crops, and drinking. Drinking water was allowed to trickle through alternate layers of sand and charcoal to remove the impurities.
Read more about this topic: Architecture Of The California Missions