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Sir Joseph William Bazalgette
(28 Mar 1819 - 15 Mar 1891)
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Science Quotes by Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (2 quotes)
[The principle, in building a sewer system, was] ...of diverting the cause of the mischief to a locality where it can do no mischief.
— Sir Joseph William Bazalgette
At that time, the river at Westminster was in such an abominable condition that they were obliged to close the windows of the Houses of Parliament and there was a talk of Parliament having to shift to other quarters altogether. What was the cause of it? The drains of London were pouring down their filth into the river at low water. There was no outflow from them at high water. The tide kept the sewage up the drains then; but when the tide had been running out for hours and the water in the river began to run low, then the drains began to pour out their sewage and of course when the tide came in again it was all swept up by the stream. When the tide ebbed it all came down and so it kept oscillating up and down the river, while more filth was continuously adding to it until the Thames became absolutely pestilential.
— Sir Joseph William Bazalgette
See also:
- 28 Mar - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Bazalgette's birth.
- More for Sir Joseph William Bazalgette on Today in Science History page.
- The Great Stink of London: Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis, by Stephen Halliday. - book suggestion.