The Sewer is the Conscience of a City

The summer of 1858 saw the <a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Londons-Great-Stink/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">“Great Stink”</a> subjugate London. The intense heat exposed the putrid mix of human waste and industrial pollutants in the Thames, triggering waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid fever. The foul odor, or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1121911/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">“miasma,”</a> believed to spread these plagues, was so overpowering that even the Houses of Parliament draped their curtains in chloride of lime to fend off the stench. Those who could afford to fled the stinking city. Faced with a public health crisis, Parliament passed as an emergency bill the stalled plans to totally reshape the city’s sewer system, allocating massive funds. <a href="https://medium.com/the-new-climate/the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-a-city-9bb9fdb667d6">Read More</a>