@Wilson The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia is a little more helpful than Webster's perhaps:
Invert "In
arch., An inverted arch; specifically the floor of a lock-chamber of a canal, which is usually in the form of an inverted arch, or the bottom of a sewer. 'The bottom of the sewer is called the invert from a general resemblance in construction to an "inverted" arch.'
Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, II 445."