River-Lab 6 Guide Manual
“GARDY LOO!”
(WATCH OUT FOR THE WATER!)
Sanitary Waste and Storm Water Management:
from Ancient Times to Present Day
If you were asked to write a real estate ad to sell your house, wouldn’t one (or
more) of the rooms you listed be a bathroom? That has not always been the case
throughout history. There was a time in the past when town and city streets were
filled with every kind of the most vile-smelling refuse – such as human and other
animal wastes and even animal carcasses thrown out by the local butchers. If you
didn’t jump out of the way when someone called out “Gardy loo!” from a window
above the street, you would have been showered with the contents of a chamber
pot (a chamber pot is a portable bowl-shaped container that was used in a bedroom
as a toilet). To make matters worse, imagine all of this waste mixing in deep mud
from rainstorms and flowing through a town or city. Such unhealthy conditions
existed either in part or totally in the streets of cities and towns from earliest times
right through the 1800s in the Middle East, Europe and America. Why?!
As towns and cities developed with growing populations, people had a lot to
learn about managing both storm water (water runoff from rainstorms) and
wastewater (sanitary waste, or “sewage”), as well as other items for disposal.
Early systems to rid households of human waste have been found during
excavations of ancient cities that existed from as early as 3,300 B.C. Up until very
recent times, however, regardless of the system devised to remove human waste,
the final step was depositing this material, raw and untreated, into the nearest
stream or other natural body of water or onto unused land. Why is this a problem?
There are three main things about wastewater that make it something you don’t
want to release into the environment:
1) It stinks. If you release wastewater directly into the environment, things get
smelly very quickly.
2) It contains harmful bacteria, such as coliform bacteria (for example, E. coli),
that can cause disease. Once water becomes infected with these bacteria, it
becomes a health hazard.
3) It contains substances and chemicals that affect the environment. For
example, wastewater contains nitrogen and phosphates that encourage the
growth of algae. Excessive algae growth can block sunlight and foul the
water. Wastewater also contains organic material that bacteria will start
decomposing. These bacteria consume oxygen in the water and the resulting
lack of oxygen kills the fish. Lastly, the suspended solids in wastewater
make the water look murky and can affect the ability of many fish to breathe
and see.
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In the past, natural water sources or rainfall were generally accepted as the way
to have sanitary waste carried away through the city or town. Street sewers were
common over the centuries. They were often open channels, down the middle of
the street. Thus, storm water management and sanitary waste management were a
combined operation from the beginning of civilization. Only fairly recent
advances in scientific research, starting in the 1800s, have led to understanding of
the need to control and treat each of these kinds of waste water separately and
return only the cleanest possible water back into the environment.
Ancient Management Practices
3,300 B.C. – 500 A.D.
In the ancient world, there were many ways to treat waste – some were as
simplistic as sweeping wastes into the streets and others were much more
technologically advanced. Some ancient systems of sanitary waste management
involved piping that still is basic to modern systems. The city of Habuba al Kabira
(3,300 B.C.) stood on an upper stream of the Euphrates River in the part of the
world called Mesopotamia, which is now occupied by Iraq and Syria. It is the
earliest known city to have pipes to carry off sanitary waste water. In cities of the
Indus Valley (present day Pakistan) from about 2500 to 1500 B.C., some houses
had bathrooms with flushing toilets! They had well-designed drainage systems.
The Greek civilization, starting from around 1500 B.C., had the earliest
environmentally clean system of ancient times. They constructed well-planned
urban (city) drainage systems. Along with their concern to avoid harmful flooding,
they avoided polluting the surrounding waters of their environment. The waterflushed sewers of Athens sent human and other wastes to a collecting basin outside
the city. Flow from this basin was channeled to irrigate and fertilize their orchards
and fields.
The waste treatment management practices of the Romans were the most
developed of any civilization prior to the 19 th century. In fact, they were better
than those in the Middle Ages! Roman engineering was very advanced; they built
great aqueducts from streams or springs to ensure enough water for Rome and
other outlying or conquered cities. They saw that all tapped and storm water was
well managed. A huge sixteen-foot wide underground tunnel, called the Cloaca
Maxima, became the largest combination sanitary and storm sewer of ancient times
and is still in use. As Roman civilization developed, between 600 and 500 B.C.,
the Romans still flushed most of their waste to the River Tiber through open
sewers. They kept their cities clean but fouled the natural system.
Studies of ancient civilizations have revealed some remarkable attention to the
cleanliness of persons, homes and streets, but far less to the surrounding natural
environment. For most early civilizations, the final management “solution” was
“disappearing” their wastes, however transported, in a natural body of water. This
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“solution” would persist and eventually become a problem as human populations
and cities continued to grow.
500 – 1500 A.D.
Middle Ages
The decline of the Roman empire meant the loss of a controlling government to
enforce the rules and systems of water management and sanitation. Very little
Roman engineering know-how regarding such systems had spread to conquered
lands, such as England and France. With no reliable supply of clean water, no
control over storm water and no sanitary systems, people lived with the
accumulations of their filth, and disease was common and became rampant.
During the Middle Ages, or “Medieval” period, management continued to be
limited to dumping in a river or out on open ground, burying in cess-pits, and
allowing collected material to be carted to outlying farms for fertilizer. Open ditch
sewers for storm water carried industrial pollution of tanners and dyers to local
rivers and streams. In spite of unhealthy living conditions, cities continued to
grow, which caused increased crowding and even more dumping of wastes in city
streets. Rats, carrying a deadly disease, multiplied in the cities as they ate the
wastes and began to infect the people. This situation caused the Great Plague,
known as the “Black Death,” which killed one-third of the people in Europe
between 1348 and 1350 – a time of horror beyond belief!
The Renaissance Period and Age of Enlightenment
1500 – 1800
In this time period, more concern was given to health and water issues, as there
was an increasing lack of acceptance of the vile conditions of the Middle Ages.
The cesspool was one of the technical developments of the Renaissance. It is a
simple pit that allowed solids to settle and the liquid to seep into the ground.
During the 1600s, basic European waste management practices arrived on the
newly-discovered American continent. Construction of stone roads in cities, such
as Boston and New York, increased storm water runoff and river pollution. Laws
regarding disposal methods generally only followed major outbreaks of disease,
and such rules had no lasting effects. The unhealthy and irregular pattern of
depending on leaky carts or storm water to remove waste continued. The concern
remained focused on human living conditions and not on the abused natural waters.
The Industrial Revolution
1800 – 1920
The transition from handmade to machine-driven industry that started in the
early 1800s made conditions in cities so much worse that it finally provoked real
change in waste management, yet there still was no concern for the condition of
rivers. In the mid-1800s, management thinking turned strongly in favor of using
flowing water to remove sanitary wastes. This change was the result of a
widespread cholera epidemic in Europe, 1840-1860, and the increasing concern
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that such disease could be caused by germs carried in human waste. Advances in
sewer engineering and better piping made the use of flowing water possible.
Progress in waste management also continued with the invention of the septic tank
in 1860 by a Frenchman, Louis Moureas. The septic tank allows solid materials to
settle on the bottom as the liquid portion passes through. The first use of this
system – to serve large communities, letting the liquid seep into local streams –
resulted in vile stream conditions. There was an understanding of removing the
solids, a potential problem for public health, but the remaining liquid (effluent)
was largely untreated and caused pollution of streams and rivers.
Early in the 1880s, the evidence needed to support sound sanitary management
was finally discovered. Studies of bacteria by the French and German doctors,
Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, led to the isolation of typhoid and cholera germs
under the microscope and confirmed the connection to raw sewage. Public support
for sewer system funding grew quickly and many large systems were built in major
cities in Europe and America. All sewering, however, continued to dump into the
rivers because people believed this kind of “dilution” was a solution. Towns and
cities in America also moved forward with measures to handle sanitary waste and
storm water runoff.
The Twentieth Century to Present Day
1900 – 2006
The growth of cities in America and abroad increased storm drainage problems,
as well as sanitary concerns. Because serious health crises were related to sanitary
waste, development of sanitary sewer piping and treatment systems received the
most immediate attention in the 1900s. However, increasing storm water runoff
was growing as well, as the use of cars and trucks grew and more roads were
paved. Why is storm water a problem? When it rains, or snow and ice melt, the
water that does not seep into the ground flushes down our streets to nearby storm
sewers. In the present day, this water becomes polluted with hydrocarbons, grease,
oil and antifreeze that drips from our cars and trucks, detergents, pesticides and
other pollutants that get washed from driveways, backyards, parking lots and
streets. This polluted runoff flows freely to our waters.
By the early 1900s, drainage in cities – of both storm water and sanitary
effluent – became established as a public works responsibility. The Hudson River
had become so polluted that a New York City Sewage Commission was set up in
1906 to get a treatment system installed. It was estimated that the raw sewage of
over 20 million city-dwelling Americans was being poured into streams, rivers or
lakes! The dangers of sewer germs getting into drinking water, through ground
water or in rivers used for water supply were now well known. Experiments in
sanitary sewage treatment focused on promoting biological “digestion,” or the
conversion of waste material by microorganisms.
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River-Lab 6 Guide Manual – Gardy Loo!
The technology to protect natural inland and coastal water resources was
developing, but the expense of sanitary sewage treatment (installing and operating)
still kept many communities from using the systems they needed. Many older
cities with combined sanitary and storm systems felt they could not afford to
separate them. Whey heavy rains sent more storm water through combined system
pipes to a treatment plant, these older systems overflowed, polluting rivers and
coastal areas. Recreational beaches along rivers and at the seashores were often
affected, as were fishing areas and shellfish beds. Septic tanks in towns often
overflowed as businesses grew close together.
Rural communities were also beginning to have to spend more on storm water
management. For example, in 1926, Fairfield (Connecticut) installed its first
underground storm water piping to drain a portion of the town’s main street, the
Post Road. This drain emptied into the Mill River, the main river of the town.
There was little concern at this point in time as to what new chemicals, fuel or
grease might be going into the natural system. However, in 1948, a Federal Water
Pollution Act was passed, becoming the first major set of laws to control pollution
of natural bodies of water in America. During the 1950s and 1960s, concern for
the natural environment began to take its place as part of concern for human health.
Governments in America and abroad became more deeply involved in research that
advanced technology and understanding of the impacts of both storm and sanitary
wastewater on the natural water systems. More people had become aware that, in
addition to their need for pure drinking water, healthy coastal and river habitats for
food and recreation were also vital to their quality of life.
The improved research technology of the 1950s also led to the recognition that
storm water running off the surfaces of developed communities was not only
causing flooding and erosion, but was also contaminating bodies of water. The
lawns and paved areas that replace natural covering as communities are built cause
runoff from rain or snowmelt to flow down even faster. Another concern was that
storm water was not staying on the ground long enough to sink in and keep
underground water at levels that could send water out to surface water bodies
(ponds, lakes, streams and wetlands) in dry seasons. In addition, analysis of runoff
showed it carried a load of substances similar to sanitary wastewater. Water
conservation laws were established both locally and nationally, in the late 1960s
and early 1970s to address concerns about water pollution. In 1967 the
Connecticut Clean Water Act was passed which set up standards and provided
means of enforcement. In 1970, the National Environmental Policy Act was
passed in America, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
was set up, with an office in each state (Department of Environmental Protection in
Connecticut). The purpose of this program was to strengthen air, water and solid
waste management across the country.
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There were still concerns about the effectiveness and reliability of sewage
treatment and the need for greater attention to the pollution in storm water runoff.
Sources of water pollutants are classified into two types: point sources and
nonpoint sources. Point sources are easy to identify – you can see them.
Wastewater coming out of a pipe or ditch directly into a body of water from a
building such as a factory is considered point source pollution. Nonpoint pollution
sources are not so easy to identify or control. Nonpoint source pollution occurs
when rainfall or snowmelt moves across the land. The runoff is made up of eroded
soil, animal wastes, and man-made chemicals (including lawn fertilizers). Runoff
may have high concentrations of pollutants such as trace metals and oil, as well as
other content similar to sanitary sewage – bacteria and organic nutrients high in
nitrogen and phosphates. Runoff, by definition, can end up in lakes, rivers, coastal
waters, and ground water. Nonpoint source pollution was identified during the
1970s as the cause of “dead areas” in coastal waters such as Long Island Sound.
According to the EPA, nonpoint source pollution is now the biggest cause of water
quality problems in the country.
Increasingly from the 1970s, engineers had been trying to deal with nonpoint
source pollution and fast runoff. As communities became aware of this runoff
problem, various means to delay and treat runoff began to be a part of development
designs. Some systems were designed to hold back the flow for a while (retention)
and others designed to keep the water (detention) and allow it to seep underground.
Where possible, runoff from retention or detention systems would be piped to a
nearby wetland or pond. This route allowed nutrients still contained in the storm
water to be caught on plants and become part of the food chain in that natural
system.
In the late 1970s and during the 1980s, major efforts were directed in America
toward reducing point source pollution. In Fairfield, between 1980 and 2002,
many more houses with septic systems were added to the sanitary sewer trunk lines
and connected to the Fairfield treatment plant, which received a major multimillion dollar renovation and expansion between 1999 and 2002. Eighty percent
of the plant was upgraded with improved systems and additional treatment units.
Because of the similarity between what is contained in storm water runoff and
sanitary sewage, community efforts to reduce nonpoint source pollution involve
similar principles of treatment. Just as sewage treatment plants have primary
treatment to remove trash and grit, such as stones and sand, available storm
sewering systems now include a variety of designs to trap such material. Systems
are also available that trap grease and other floating pollutants. Some of the
organic runoff debris, containing nitrogen and other nutrients remains trapped in
the sand and stones. Systems are available to remove over 90% of the suspended
solids and organic pollutants in storm water. However, communities are not
always able to afford the best technology for either sanitary or storm water
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River-Lab 6 Guide Manual – Gardy Loo!
management. As with a sanitary treatment plant, a storm water management
system involves costs of maintaining the system, as well as the cost of preparing
and installing it.
Many developed countries now understand that wastewater management must
include protecting the environment as well as guarding people from community
health problems. That cry of “Gardy loo!” stirs citizens everywhere to watch out
for pollution in all bodies of freshwater, as well as in estuaries and along the coast.
An article that appeared in the Fairfield Minuteman in October 2006, noted that the
town of Fairfield has invested about $40 million in upgrading its sewage facility,
surpassing state standards and cutting the amount of nitrogen entering the waters
around the town. This investment shows the commitment of the town to the health
of Long Island Sound. Individuals can do a lot, as well, particularly with reducing
fast runoff from their properties. On our own grounds, replacing lawn with
absorbent, mulched gardens, supporting the use of porous paving wherever suitable
and even installing cisterns to catch and reuse our roof runoff could make a great
difference in both storm water and sanitary management. We can also avoid using
fertilizers with high concentrations of nitrogen or pick up grass clippings for
removal or composting. We could also not wash our cars or change the oil in our
driveways, because oil, suds and dirt could, through runoff, get into the Sound.
There’s much that can be done. The Environmental Protection Agency is an
excellent resource for information on what we can do to protect the waters of our
environment. For example, a brochure from the EPA on steps we can take in our
homes that can help prevent storm water pollution is available at Fairfield Town
Hall or online at www.fairfieldct.org.
Or, visit the EPA at
www.epa.gov/ebtpages/water.html for a wealth of material and information on
water quality and environmental protection.
We have come along way in separating them in many cases but these two forms
of wastewater are still combining to cause environmental impacts because of our
continuing ignorance and negligence.
Additional resources:
Evolution of Sewage Treatment: www.cet.nau.edu/Projects/WDP/resources/History/History.htm
New England Interstaste Water Pollution Control Commission:
http://www.neiwpcc.org/Index.htm?Contact.htm~mainFrame
Soundkeeper’s Filter Project:
www.soundkeeper.org
Howstuffworks: “How Sewer and Septic Systems Work”:
www.howstuffworks.com/sewer.htm/printable
After the Storm: a Citizen’s Guide to Understanding Stormwater
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/after_the_storm.pdf
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