Engineering in Plain Sight

‌7 Municipal Water and Wastewater

Introduction

Water is a fundamental human need, but its cleanliness is just as important. Even before the advent of modern municipal engineering, many civilizations had developed strategies for delivering fresh water to urban areas and removing wastewater to prevent it from contaminating water sources. In the 19th century, as cities worldwide began to grow in population and density, the threat to public health from waterborne diseases became more menacing and insidious. The science of sanitation developed as a necessity to keep city-dwellers safe from plague and pestilence. Now nearly all cities and towns ...