An acequia (pronounced ah-seek-ee-ah) is a community-operated waterway used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. An acequia can flow through a pipe or over an aqueduct, but most are simple open ditches with dirt banks. In San Antonio the acequias provided drinking water and carried water to distant fields for almost 200 years and some are still in use today.
This is relevant to the Witte Museum for two reasons:
The 1719 Acequia Madre, which supplied water to the presidio and what is now known as the Alamo, originated at the bend in the San Antonio River which is at the north end of the Witte campus. As part of its campus expansion project, the Witte hopes to excavate this original water feature and restore it in an historical context.
The new façade for the Witte Museum will celebrate the Acequia Madre with a viaduct transporting water to a fountain on the edge of Broadway Street. A viaduct is a water bridge of sorts, which allows the water flowing in an acequia to cross ditches, valleys or natural waterways.
Mission Espada's acequia (irrigation) system can still be seen today. The main ditch continues to carry water to the mission and its former farmlands, and actually utilizes a viaduct to traverse a creek. The Espada Acequia not only conducted potable water and irrigation, but also powered a mill at Mission Espada. This water is still used today by residents living nearby.
Update!
The WitteMuseum and the Center for Archaeological Research of the University of Texas at San Antonio have rediscovered the Acequia Madre 1719. An excavated backhoe trench revealed an interpretable stratigraphy on Thursday, December 16, 2010.
DETAILS:
Archaeologists from the Center for Archaeological Research of the University of Texas at San Antonio compiled historical documentation including maps, photographs and aerial photographs depicting the location of the Acequia Madre 1719 to form a projected location prior to sub-surface investigations.
Through this extensive research, archaeologist Steve Tomka and his team performed backhoe trenching on the west and east banks of the San Antonio River across the projected path of the Acequia, followed by hand-clearing of exposed features.
On December 16, the backhoe trench on the east side of the Witte Museum Campus went down to approximately 13 feet below ground surface. Once the walls of the trench were hand-cleaned, the profile revealed a complex but interpretable stratigraphy. Preliminary assessments indicate there are two channels of the Acequia within the trench. Studies of the profile will continue.
The Acequia Madre 1719, which transverses the Witte Museum Campus, carried essential water from the headwaters of the San AntonioRiver to the Alamo. As part of the Witte Museum Campus Expansion, the Witte will excavate and restore the Acequia in order for visitors to experience this vital piece of South Texas history. The Acequia will carry water from the San AntonioRiver to an above-ground aqueduct reaching out to Broadway, recycling itself back into the River.
DARWIN: 
Witte Through Time: 
An acequia (pronounced ah-seek-ee-ah) is a community-operated waterway used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. An acequia can flow through a pipe or over an aqueduct, but most are simple open ditches with dirt banks. In San Antonio the acequias provided drinking water and carried water to distant fields for almost 200 years and some are still in use today.
