The original Abbey Mills pumping station. During the early 19th century the River Thames was an open sewer, with disastrous consequences for public health in London, including cholera epidemics. These were caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.Although the contamination of the water supply was correctly diagnosed by Dr John …

2019年3月28日 · Hidden beneath the city streets of London lie 2,000 kilometres of brick tunnels that take raw sewage from our homes, along with 130 kilometres of interconnecting main sewers the size of railway tunnels.

2024年3月27日 · After eight years in the making, London's £5bn super sewer has been completed. Known officially as the Thames Tideway Tunnel, it has been designed to reduce the amount of raw sewage that flows ...

The Victorian brick-lined tunnels are still part of London's current sewer system. That’s partly because Bazalgette insisted on building tunnels far larger than were originally needed, anticipating the growth of the city. Of course, in the dirty 21st century, we're putting new strains on Bazalgette's greatest work. ...

2023年5月30日 · London’s ongoing commitment to maintaining and upgrading its sewer systems ensures the continued health and welfare of its population, serving as a model for other cities around the world. The evolution of London’s sewer systems is a testament to the power of innovation and the critical role of infrastructure in fostering healthier communities.

2005年4月1日 · London's Sewers are a triumph of Victorian engineering. Until the new sewer system was built, raw sewerage went directly into the Thames which was also used for drinking water.

2023年1月16日 · Bazalgette made a set of plans for 132 miles of enclosed main sewers that would take London’s human waste outside the city limits. They would be fed by 1,100 miles of smaller sewers that would replace the old sewers like the one that was leaking into the Broad Street pump, and new ones that would carry sewage from unpiped areas.

The Thames was sluggish then. Instead of flowing down to the sea, the waste stayed put and the river became an open sewer. People took their drinking water from the Thames so this meant water-borne diseases such as cholera spread easily. In 1853 a cholera epidemic killed 15,000 Londoners. Despite ...

2024年4月22日 · This project dramatically improved public health and sanitation in London, highlighting the critical intersection of engineering and urban well-being. Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s solution to the Great Stink of 1858 was a monumental engineering feat involving the construction of an extensive network of sewers in London.

Building London's sewers was the biggest civil engineering project in the world at the time. Sadly, delays to allow the embankments to also house new Underground lines meant that a final cholera epidemic hit London in 1866. The sewers were completed around 1870, with two extra sewers added about 1910.