[Windcatcher]

The biggest problems to overcome when talking about ancient hydraulics revolve around maintaining pressure. You need tight, precise seals that hold under pressure and some way of routing the water that doesn’t succumb to pressure by expanding, leaking, fracturing, or otherwise bursting. At a minimum they would need metal tubing built to specific diameters and tolerances, seals that allow metal tubes to slide into one another without leaking, and waterproof hoses that don’t leak or burst (I suppose you could use metal tubes instead of hoses but you’d need all manner of seals between tube sections; it would be a nightmare). So we’re talking about the need for precise lathes for the metal tubing and the right materials for the seals, pistons, and hoses. I just don’t see the Egyptians or any ancient peoples having that technology.

[Theoria]

The British canal system would be a similar usage. All ya need is wood, aqueducts[shafts], and pressure[elevation] to lower and raise water. The seals are wood, which does a decent job, enough to stop most of the water. Just integrating a system like that isn't outside a civilization that constructed pyramids and other contraptions.

[SunkenCiv]

Yes, and what Seruzawa said in #3.