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The Evolution of Sewage Treatment: From Ancient Practices to Modern Solutions

This document explores the history of sewage treatment, tracing its evolution from nomadic tribes in 10,000 BC to modern urban practices. It highlights key developments, such as the use of plumbing in ancient Crete, the Roman aqueducts, and the shift back to primitive methods during the Middle Ages. The impact of the Industrial Revolution is examined, detailing innovations like the septic tank and efforts in cities like New York to modernize sanitation in response to public health concerns. It underscores the relationship between sewage management, environmental health, and chronic disease risks.

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The Evolution of Sewage Treatment: From Ancient Practices to Modern Solutions

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  1. A History of Sewage Treatment DZ05 11/14/2005

  2. Evolution of Driving Issues • Smell • Infectious Disease • Chronic Health Risks • Environmental Concerns Source: http://www.cet.nau.edu/Projects/WDP/resources/History/History.htm

  3. Strategies from the Distant Past • 10,000 BC – Nomadic Tribes: just move away • 3500 BC – City of Ur (Iraq): • sweep waste into the streets • => street level rises • => raise the doors • 2100 BC – City of Herakopolis (Egypt) • Like Ur • but rich & religious people put waste into RIVERS

  4. Sewage: The Classical Period • 1700-1500 BC – Minoan Culture (Crete): Plumbing, flush toilets, sewers • 500 to 300 BC – Athens (Greece): • Dumps: expenses for waste removal covered by levees on landowners • 600 BC to 400 AD – Roman Republic: • Aqueducts (mostly underground) • Sewers • Waste => Rivers (Tiber, Rome) • Public baths • Flush Toilets (not seen again until ~1600)

  5. Middle Ages • 500-1500 AD – Europe: Back to Ur • Outhouses, open trenches, chamber pots • Problem: waste pits => wells => contaminated drinking water • [READING] • Renaissance • Development of the cesspool (pit that allows liquid to seep away) • Henry VI & VII (England) laws about polluting streams • Some awareness of the link between sanitation and human health

  6. 19th Century • 1860 Louis Moureas invents the septic tank • Allows solids to settle out before liquid is discharged to the nearest stream or river • Used for communities • People also experimented with sand filters • [READING]

  7. New York City: Early 19th Century • Early 1800’s: water from wells and cisterns • Private waste disposal (privies for temporary storage) “vault and haul” • Belief: running water purifies effluent • Potential for water pollution not recognized

  8. New York City: Late 19th Century • Sewers initially developed for storm water (this created problems later!) • Limited water supply made water-based disposal unworkable (no water to flush toilets) • This changed when water arrived via aqueduct • 1860’s Physicians and Engineers employed by the City • Croton Aqueduct Department building sewers to handle new influx created by more domestic use • Connecting all houses to sewers took a long time • Connections achieved by public funding pushed by public health concerns

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