A BRIEF HISTORY OF NYC’S EARLY WATER SUPPLY & SEWER SYSTEM THE ALTERNATIVE: EARTH TOILET

Henry Moule Priest of Church of England (1801-1880) Earth toilet 1860 THE WORLD WE LIVE IN… THE WORLD WE LIVE IN… THE WORLD WE LIVE IN… THE WORLD WE LIVE IN… HOLY S***! WASTE MANAGEMENT BEFORE MODERN SEWERS PRIVY

Sense of privacy? Really?

THE STORY OF “NIGHT SOIL”

• 1800-1825: the City mandated that privies be constructed of stone, mortar, and brick and be dug at least five feet deep. • But many were built of wood

Gongfermor in Britain

Scavenger or Tubman in America

THE STORY OF “NIGHT SOIL”: 1803-4

-£3584.16

+£6066.6 THE STORY OF “NIGHT SOIL”

• Monopoly under contract • Irish, free blacks, & convicts • Northern border of the city & islands south to THE STORY OF “NIGHT SOIL”

• Not only collect human waste, but horse manure • In the 1890s, horses were leaving an estimated 2.5 million pounds of manure and 60,000 gallons of urine on the streets every day. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET EVERYBODY POOPS, BUT FEW GET TO ENJOY IT A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: KNOSSOS, CRETE (1700 -1300 B.C.) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: KNOSSOS, CRETE (1700 -1300 B.C.) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: ROME, ITALY (800 B.C.-100 A.D.) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: ROME, ITALY (800 B.C.-100 A.D.) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: ROME, ITALY (800 B.C.-100 A.D.)

Cloaca Maxima A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: ROME, ITALY (800 B.C.-100 A.D.) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Garderobe A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: MEDIEVAL EUROPE A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: MEDIEVAL EUROPE A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: MEDIEVAL EUROPE A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Close-stool A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Chamber pot A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: MEDIEVAL EUROPE A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Four Times of the Day William Hogarth 1736 A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET

Sir John Harrington (1560-1612) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET A New Discourse of a Stale Subject, called the Metamorphosis of Ajax (1596)

To God my prayer I meant, to thee the dirt. Pure prayer ascends to him that high doth sit, Down falls the filth, for fiends of hell more fit. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET

Alexander Cumming First patent for flushing toilet, 1775 Scottish Clockmaker (1731-1814) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET

Joseph Bramah, English locksmith (1748-1814) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET

George Jennings, English plumber (1810-1882) A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET

First public toilet at 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET

First public toilet at 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET

Thomas Twyford English pottery manufacturer (1849-1921) Single-piece, ceramic wash-out toilet, 1875 A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOILET: FLUSHING TOILET TRUE PURPOSE OF FLUSHING TOILET

Convenience

Profit

Patent

The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year. NYC HAS A WATER PROBLEM?! WATER SUPPLY BEFORE CROTON AQUEDUCT NYC HAS A WATER PROBLEM?! THE COLLECT POND

Size: 48 acres = 190,000 m2

Depth: 60 feet = 18 m

Bayard Mount, 34 m

MANHATTAN COMPANY

• 1799, the NY state charted the Manhattan Company: – Bronx River – Iron pipe

• Banking ventures: surplus of bank transaction MANHATTAN COMPANY

Manhattan Company Reservoir: Chamber Street, 1825.

13th St. and 4th ave, 1829.

132,600 gallons + 305,422 gallons

Wooden pipe instead of iron

Pumping well water to the reservoir THE COLLECT POND

Water contamination beyond repair by the early 19th century

1804, Filling the Collect  Landfill

1809, Canal Street sewer

1811, Bayard Mount leveled, the Collect virtually gone BEYOND MANHATTAN COMPANY…

• The NY state rescinded MC’s monopoly status. • The Sharon Canal Company & the Water Works Company • Both failed due to high financial risks.

New York Attorney General

1789-1791

Senator from New York

1791-1797

3rd Vice President of the U.S.

1801-1805 MANHATTAN COMPANY

• Became one of the initial members of New York Clearing House Association 1853

• Merge with Chase National Bank  Chase Manhattan Bank 1955

• Purchased by the Chemical Bank 1996

• Acquire J.P. Morgan  J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. 2000 GROWTH OF NYC

Population Population

814000

515547 312710 202589 123706 60515 96373 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 GROWTH OF NYC

Wards 25

20 22

15 16 14 10 Wards 9 10 5 7

0 1791 1803 1808 1830 1840 1860

CROTON AQUEDUCT WAS SANITATION THE PRIORITY? CROTON AQUEDUCT

• Public health • Loss of night soil revenue • Save cost of labor • Contamination of soil and • Attract business water • Boost real-estate value • Burden on property owners CROTON AQUEDUCT

Sanitation Business Contingency

CHOLERA 1832

• July 1832 • 3,515 dead out of 250,000 • 100,000 fled the city by early August

CHOLERA 1832 CHOLERA 1832 CHOLERA 1832

• Mayor + the Common Council • Board of Health: quarantine and evacuation since 1796, city inspector since 1804

• A budget problem: – In 1813, $1,600 for the Board of Health, 0.3% of $524,000 – Lottery to raise money for the construction of a hospital. – $25,000 in 1832 due to cholera. – Five hospitals built – Reduced afterwards 1833 NY Senate created the Water Commission

1835 NY citizens approved the Croton Aqueduct in an open referendum

1835 David B. Douglass was appointed as chief engineer GREAT FIRE OF NEW YORK 1835

December 16, 1835

Started from 25 Beaver St.

Spreading northeastward

Wells and faucets were frozen.

Stopped till the houses were torn down.

700 buildings in 17 blocks

$20,000,000 worth of damage JOHN B. JERVIS

American-trained civil engineer

 Apprenticing on the Erie Canal, and became the chief engineer.

 Assistant engineer on the Delaware and Hudson Canal, and promoted to chief engineer

 Mohawk and Hudson Railway director CROTON AQUEDUCT

Hierarchy of management

1. Central office

2. Four divisions, each 10 miles long

3. Residential engineer, who lived and worked on site

Independent contractors submitted bids for each segments HIGH BRIDGE OVER HARLEM RIVER

Opposition from Westchester: fear of absorption, and fear of Irish workers

Eminent domain

Political turbulence of the Water Commission: Democrats  Whigs

Solidification of apolitical engineer: Jervis’s position remained untouched. CROTON AQUEDUCT

Water Commission (NY) Croton Aqueduct Committee (NYC) CROTON AQUEDUCT

January 8, 1841, flood killing three people, destroying dams. bridges, mills, and homes.

April 1841, the state limited the authority of the Water Commission below the Murray Hill Reservoir.

CROTON WATER CELEBRATION

October 14, 1842 SEWER SYSTEM OF NYC FROM WARD TO THE EARLY SEWERS

• Before 1830 • Open sewer: Canal Street Sewer

• After 1830 • Closed underground conduit

THE EARLY SEWERS: PIECEMEAL

Petition from local Decision from the Development in property owner Common Council wealthy districts NY Croton NYC Common Aqueduct Council Department CAD Maintaining, CC constructing, Planning & managing

Chief engineer is Alderman included CAD CC Some appointed Run by apolitical by the mayor, Croton with Council’s Aqueduct Board endorsement

Board members hold longer terms than politician CAD CC Generate Technical public support response

Construction Advertising by individual and choosing contractors the bid SEWERS AFTER CROTON AQUEDUCT

• 200 contractors in the 1850s and 1860s • Not with extensive experience • Wealth sharing among a greater share of constituents • The contractors were obliged to follow the specifications detailed in the contract. • BRICKS + MORTAR • Maintain a neat construction site, but often failed. • Inspectors, but easy to bribe • Contractor’s Quality negligence

• Lack of Conflict support from CAD

• Thicker waste Ineffectiveness • Larger volume of waste RISE OF ENGINEER

• In the early 1840s, city inspector John Griscom attempted to fill the positions of health wardens and street inspectors with medical personnel under his charge. • The attempt was opposed by the Common Council as Alderman of each ward tended to award the appointments to their loyal supporters. RISE OF ENGINEER

• Consciousness of a profession: • 1800-1850, several failed attempts • 1852 creation of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), following a British model – 1855 Ellis Chesbrough (Boston  Chicago) – 1857 Brooklyn Board of Sewer Commissioners: Julius Adams and J.P. Kirkwood MAYOR FERNANDO WOOD

1855-1858

Popular support from immigrants and working class with promises to clean up the city.

New city charter 1857 (by NY!): Commission Harbor Commission Metropolitan Police Department

1857 Conflicts of between two police forces: municipal vs. metropolitan MAYOR FERNANDO WOOD

1860-1862

Civil War

Remove Alfred W. Craven, the chief engineer of Croton Aqueduct Department, a founding member and later the president of ASCE

Incompetence, disrespect, embezzlement. ALFRED W. CRAVEN

1829 Columbia College (today’s Columbia University) law school

1835 Started an apprenticeship on the Mad River Railroad of Ohio

1843-1849 Mohawk and Hudson Railroad

1849 Chief engineer of Croton Aqueduct Department ALFRED W. CRAVEN

Craven’s fight-back: the skill of engineer and the support from the mass

Dispute of “municipal despotism”

Chief engineer of Croton Aqueduct Department till 1868 SANITARY REFORM

• Citizens’ Association was created for the goal of “public usefulness.” 1863

• CA asked 24 physicians, Griscom included, to comment on the state of public health. 1864

• In January, CA concluded their report and disseminated it widely. 1865 • In April, the state outlawed building of sewers unless authorized by CAD.

• The Metropolitan Board of Health was created. 1866 • The Board was proven effective in the fight of cholera the same year it was created. SANITARY REFORM

City State TAMMANY HALL

City State

Metro- Depart- politan ment of Board Public of Works Health TAMMANY HALL TAMMANY HALL

• John T. Hoffman was elected NY governor. 1868 • A. Oakey Hall was elected .

• The Charter of 1870 stripped the right of letting contract from the Common Council. 1870 • William M. Tweed was appointed to head the Department of Public Works.

• The tax levy bill enabled the Department to oversee infrastructure improvements. 1871 • The Board of Estimate and Apportionment was created on the side. THE TWEED RING WILLIAM M. "BOSS" TWEED

Foreman of Americus Fire Company No. 6. 1848

U.S. Representative 1853-1855

NY Senator 1868-1873

Head of Tammany Hall since 1858 WILLIAM M. "BOSS" TWEED

Infrastructure development provided jobs for loyal supporters.

Tweed’s daughter’s wedding held in May 1870 cost $13,000, almost two times of his annual salary. WILLIAM M. "BOSS" TWEED

Resigned in December 1871.

Arrested  Bailed out  Rearrested  Died in jail in 1878

But the new city charter in 1873 left the form and function of the Department of Public Works as Tweed had created it.

Spread of vitrified clay pipe WILLIAM LAFAYETTE STRONG

1895-1897

Last mayor of New York before the Consolidation of the City of Greater New York on January 1, 1898.

Republican mayor elected amidst the anti-Tammany sentiment GEORGE E. WARING, JR.

Self-titled “sanitary engineer”

Civil War veteran

1878-1879, at Memphis TN. Separate sewage from storm runoff  pipes with lower cost

1895, at New York City. “White Wings”

GEORGE E. WARING, JR.

Purchased interest in Moule’s patent of earth closet (Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1883)

Replacing privy with earth closet

New research about its value for providing fertilizer

1898, died in Cuba Tax

New level of Pool of Money municipality

More power for Publicness Civil Engineers ON WITH THE SHOW… WHAT DOES FLINT TELL US ABOUT WATER SUPPLY TODAY? CROTON AQUEDUCT 2.0

9000000 8000000 7000000 6000000 5000000 4000000 Population 3000000 2000000 1000000 0 1771 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 WHAT HAPPENED LATER…

THE TOMBS COLLECT POND PARK

WHAT HAPPENED IN FLINT, MI? WHY IS HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE? FB: XINCHENG K. SHEN-PEANUTBUTTER EMAIL: [email protected] BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR THIS SUBJECT

• Joanne Abel Goldman, Building New York’s Sewer.1997. • Julie L. Horan, The Porcelain God: a Social History of the Toilet. 1996. • Maureen Ogle, All the Modern Conveniences: American Household Plumbing, 1840-1890. 1996. • David Soll, Empire of Water: an Environmental and Political History of the New York City Water Supply. 2013. • Martin V. Melosi, The Sanitary City: Environmental Services in Urban America from Colonial Times to the Present. 2000 [2008]. • Joel A. Tarr, The Search for the Ultimate Sink: Urban Pollution in Historical Perspective. 1996. MEANWHILE IN EUROPE & BEYOND… FROM LONDON TO SHANGHAI LONDON VS. NEW YORK CITY

7000000 6000000 5000000 4000000 New York City 3000000 London 2000000 1000000 0 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 WATER SUPPLY IN LONDON

• First waterwheel and water company, London Bridge 1581 Waterworks

• Water companies joined together forming monopoly 1811

• Metropolitan Board of Works to improve public 1855 infrastructure in the wake of three waves of cholera THE GREAT STINK OF 1858 JOSEPH BAZALGETTE (1819-1891)

WATER SUPPLY IN LONDON

1865 • The system was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales

1875 • The Main Drainage Project was completed

1878 • Accident of SS Princess Alice

1898 • The Royal Commission of Sewage Disposal MEANWHILE IN SHANGHAI… MEANWHILE IN SHANGHAI…

• British concession established 1845

• Small Sword riot drove Chinese into the concession 1853

• Shanghai Waterworks Co., completed in 1883 1881 MEANWHILE IN SHANGHAI…

1906 • Septic tank came into use

1908 • Construction of sewer lines

1915 • Restriction on flushing toilets removed

1921 • Water treatment plant, completed in 1923