The aqueduct was an early means of transporting water with no energy cost, but it required complex masonry and the ability to make waterproof channels.
Groundwater occurs wherever the geology allows it. The minimum requirement is for porous and permeable rocks to be in contact with a water source.
The qanat was an early means of transporting water with no energy cost, once the tunnel was made. This Iranian technology spread as far as Morocco and China.
A river bank may be raised to make a levee, and as the river gathers silt, the levee is also raised, giving an unstable river higher than the surrounding plain.
In 1674 Pierre Perrault measured rainfall in the Paris basin, finding that it accounted for the flow in the Seine, ruling out a hypothetical underground source.
In 1752 Phillippe Bruache uses the idea of river basins to divide the world into natural regions, and we still use this today when we speak of the Amazon basin.
Water can be raised by an Archimedean screw, which uses the rotation of a crank to produce a continual gentle flow of water while the crank is turned.
The standard pump relies on one or more valves, each of which is a cleverly arranged flap or ball that allows flow in a pipe or opening in one direction only.
Water can be raised by different pump types, and has been done since ancient times: water management has been a major unifying influence in many civilizations.