The dry climate and geography of Aden has always made its water supply a complex problem. Ducat writes in this report "To supply the garrison, town and harbour of Aden with a really abundant supply of good water has been a desideratum with the governments of India and Bombay ever since the taking of the promontory in 1839 and has been the ambition and aim of every Engineer officer who has had charge of this port."

'Ducat proposed using the water of the Missana spring, but the project did not meet with the approval of Government probably owing to the necessity for 43 miles of piping, and the difficulty of establishing posts along the line, and of preventing mischief. Moreover, it was first resolved to try the Khussafbund scheme, as being with the Settlement itself. It is possible that the financial results of so vast a project would have to be satisfactorily shown before Government would consent to sanction it' (Hunter, F.M. An Account  of the British Settlement in Aden in Arabia, London, 1877, p.21).