More than 25 percent of the world’s population—that’s more than 2 billion people—do not have access to basic sanitation. That’s an astonishing number when you consider that some of the earliest sewage systems were already developed in Mesopotamia by the middle of the third millennium B.C.E.
Although not the oldest sewage system in the world—earlier drainage systems are known from the ancient Near East and across Asia and the Mediterranean—Rome’s Cloaca Maxima (meaning “greatest sewer” in Latin) is a marvel of engineering. Constructed as early as the sixth century B.C.E., this sewage system was built to drain the marshy lands surrounding the hills of the Eternal City. In later centuries, the system was enclosed, or covered, and by the Imperial period, it also included connections for public baths and lavatories. The Cloaca Maxima has remained in continuous use since its original construction. Even today, drainage water flows through the ancient tunnels.
Across time and cultures, the need for safe and effective waste disposal has led to major urban improvement projects. Until the mid-19th century, London had relied on a patchwork of waste disposal methods, including night-soil collectors, who would empty local cesspits. London’s growing population pushed this system to the brink, however, and in the summer of 1858, it broke. Known as “The Great Stink,” the hot weather caused the polluted Thames River to smell, according to one British minister, like “a Stygian pool reeking with ineffable and unbearable horror.” The smell was apparently so bad that, in just 18 days, the Houses of Parliament passed a bill to construct a new sewer system for London. This system is still maintained and used today, although with upgrades to handle London’s current size and population.
More than 25 percent of the world’s population—that’s more than 2 billion people—do not have access to basic sanitation. That’s an astonishing number when you consider that some of the earliest sewage systems were already developed in Mesopotamia by the middle of the third millennium B.C.E.
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