The UK's 19th century sanitation crisis

In the early 19th century, waterborne diseases such as cholera plagued the UK. In one outbreak in 1831, cholera killed 32,000 people. It wasn’t until 1854 that the link between cholera and contaminated water was discovered.

Child mortality was high, and life expectancy was low.

During a hot summer in London in 1858, the unbearable smell of untreated sewage that filled the River Thames sent MPs fleeing from the Houses of Parliament. This was known as the ‘Great Stink.’ Something had to change.

Between 1865 and 1875 a new sewer system designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette meant that waste was no longer dumped onto the shores of the Thames, ending the cholera outbreaks in London.

By the end of the century, local authorities were required to provide water, drainage and sewerage, and living conditions improved.

In the decade that followed, advances in water, sanitation and hygiene led to improved living conditions and better public health. It took lobbying, investment, research and courage for clean water and decent, private toilets to be normal in the UK, and the cholera epidemic became a distant memory.