The construction and installation of water supply systems is considered one of the most critical projects in the modernisation of a settlement or region and an indicator of its progress. As water supply is an issue people had to tackle throughout history, it can be monitored and studied in various political and social contexts. It also becomes evident that the public discourse on water supply kept changing over time. The conviction that the construction of water supply networks is a positive phenomenon has always remained present, but the outlook on who has contributed the most to the implementation of such projects and who should be thanked for the modernisation has changed. These views were usually expressed most clearly during the opening ceremonies related to the water distribution system. During the Austro-Hungarian period, in a time of widespread urbanisation, industrialisation, and modernisation of cities, many new urban and regional water supply systems were inaugurated. The society attributed the credit for their construction mainly to the individuals who had championed them, usually the city or provincial politicians. Ivan Hribar, for example, is still considered the father of Ljubljana’s water supply system. The construction and installation of water supply systems also had a distinctly patriotic note. Several waterworks were opened to mark the anniversaries of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph, expressing gratitude for his help and support in speeches and on some of the monuments unveiled on these occasions. Similarly, individual benefactors who had contributed significantly to the construction with their own funds were also praised.