To order a print

click here to go to the PRINTS page.

BENEATH OUR FEET 

SANITATION

Our drains are an important element of our attempt to keep our environment clean and prevent the spread of disease. However, they do have to be carefully designed. In the recent floods the New York drainage system was unable to contain the deluge from heavy rain and at least 16 people died, many drowned in their basement flats. The drains were configured to handle 1.75 inches of rain but as much as 3.15 inches fell in just an hour and the system was unable to cope. A report in the Washington Post reported that ‘Natural surfaces do a far better job of acting as a giant “sponge” compared to impervious ones common to sprawling suburban and urban regions’.

HISTORY

Given these statistics, it is strange to note that there is early evidence of sewers found in the Harappan cultures in North West India as early as 2500 BC. Stone and wooden covered drains were common Roman and Egyptian constructions. But there is little evidence of similar systems in Europe until late into the middle ages. Our modern networks were developed following the first major sewer system designed for London by Joseph Bazalgette in the mid 19th century.