Discussion. The Drainage of Paris; The Main Drainage of London, and the Interception of the Sewage From the River Thames.

Future Options for Sewage and Drainage Systems Three Scenarios for Transitions and Continuity

“…Drinking water contamination and stench were the reasons to create sewers that transported sewage to larger rivers or the sea shore. The London sewers became the exemplars for many cities [16][17][18].…”

Retrofitting urban drainage infrastructure: green or grey?

“…London's combined sewerage system is a famous exemplar of nineteenth century engineering (Halliday, 2001). The combined sewer system was originally designed to overflow into the Thames on average four times per year, but CSOs now occur in London more than 50 times per year on average (Bazalgette, 1865;Thames Water, 2012). In 2012, this situation led the European Court of Justice to rule that the UK was in breach of the UWWT Directive in relation to CSOs in London.…”

“…Combined sewers drain both wastewater and surface water and were often deployed as a pragmatic design choice to adapt long-standing surface water drainage networks into waterbased sanitation systems to serve rapidly growing and industrialising cities (Bazalgette, 1865;Beder, 1989;Halliday, 2001;Melosi, 2000). CSOs were intended to prevent sewer flooding during high rainfall events by discharging peak flows directly into local rivers, and have generally increased in frequency since the systems were first installed.…”

Architecture, ornament and excrement: the Crossness and Abbey Mills pumping stations

“…3 Both performed important engineering functions within London's main drainage system -the world's first city-wide sewerage network constructed in the 1860s -and both were key symbolic sites for public awareness of that system, and the setting of public ceremonies to mark its completion. 4 I explore how these buildings became a focus for sustained reflection on the relationship between architecture and dirt. In their design, the architect put forward a redemptive vision of excrement in the city, purified by technological development and enshrined as a valuable resource in itself; visitors saw wonder in their noble function but also expressed disquiet at the monstrous quantities of sewage concentrated in their subterranean spaces.…”