Josiah Parkes (1793–1871) was an English civil engineer, inventor of a deep drainage system.
For Mr. Heathcote of Tiverton, Parkes carried out a plan for draining a part of Chat Moss, Lancashire, which he tried to cultivate by using steam power.
A Birmingham manufacturer on Parkes's suggestion produced in 1844 the first set of drain-cutting implements, and in 1843 John Reade, a self-taught mechanic, invented a cylindrical clay pipe as a cheap conduit for the water.
Parkes, though, had less success with practical projects, was touchy, and rejected innovations in his field by John Bailey Denton and others.
His last major work was for the War Department: the draining, forming and fixing of sea slopes in the fortifications at Yaverland and Warden Point, Isle of Wight, from 1862 to 1869.