It seems to me that the acequia are an open and distributed technology, so even when the central authority collapsed, each individual community was able to keep the services running based on that technology, for over a thousand years.
Modern irrigation is incredible, modern cities are amazing, modern software connects most humans on the planet. But ... we can learn.
That was the exact same with the khettaras, they were built and Maintained by the communities.
Talking about notion of a central authority that provides governance is an anachronism in the context of North Africa. But that’s a separate discussion.
Modern irrigation is incredible, modern cities are amazing, modern software connects most humans on the planet. But ... we can learn.