it was used for turning equitment on the mill
Pulp mills and paper mills use a large amount of water from lakes, rivers and, in some cases, oceans
Pumping water.
Pumping water.
To generate hydroelectricity. But water energy (the potential energy in a head of water) has also been used to turn water wheels for industrial mills and flower mills.
water
E.g. horses, sailing ships, wind mills, water mills. And human muscle power, of course.
Water mills use the power of running water to pump water, to grind wheat into flour, and other uses. By using the renewable energy of moving water the mill does not use electricity, which is usually generated by burning fossil fuels. This is a saving of electricity, of money, of fossil fuels and it reduces carbon dioxide pollution of the environment.
Cotton mills, corn mills, etc. where built along streams and rivers to use water power to run the machinery. When steam-engines took over, the factories and mills could be built anywhere.
The name Don Mills is exactly what it sounds like. There is a Don river (quite small) that passes through the city of Toronto, and mills (two woolen mills and sawmill) had been constructed near the river to be able to use water wheels as power. The site is still called Don Mills even though it has since been redeveloped.
The invention of water mills for grinding grain occured in the Han dynasty.
The colonists used water power, because during the Industrial Revolution in the U.S., The development of the textile mills and the inventions that brought it about were powered only by water.
The power to run early grain mills came from hydroelectric energy provided through water wheels.