Britain’s transition from water power to coal-based steam power set the stage for the 19th century Industrial Revolution, which transformed much of Europe and North America into predominantly urban and industrialized societies. One long-held argument for this move “away from the water” has been that Britain no longer had sufficient water resources to satisfy the increasing power demands of its textile mills.
Click here for original story, Drought, not lack of ‘working rivers,’ may have helped spur transition to steam power in Britain’s industrial revolution
Source: Phys.org