Pandemics – a major catalyst for modern sewer systems

Did you know that a pandemic (cholera) was one of the main catalysts for installing modern sewerage systems in both London and Paris?

Due to the Cholera pandemic in 1858, which hit over 10,000 residents, London saw raw sewage overflow into the River Thames that caused a strong repugnant odour, eventually forcing the government to construct a modern sewer system that transported the city’s waste as far as possible.

Similarly, amid the outbreak, in an attempt to remake Paris and open it up into a “City of Light”, French authorities went through the demolition of 12,000 buildings, boulevards, parks and fountains to install an elaborate sewage system.

Pandemics truly played a big part in transforming the cities of old.

As of today, wastewater still plays a critical role in monitoring the levels of pathogens in a particular region. Health officials in the state of Tyrol monitored levels of the novel coronavirus in the sewage to predict if the virus was truly on the decline. The result of this could help the region as they were highly reliant on tourism and will help decide to lift the lockdown. This method was particularly of interest to the SARS-CoV-2 because it replicates in the digestive system and is found in high quantities in human faeces most often before we get the symptoms. This method was relatively a less expensive one compared to the usual swab methodology. However, the Omicron variant seems to be showing up less in the faecal matter, this could possibly be due to the change in the virus variant or more immunity developed by humans. Eitherway to certain degree monitoring wastewater can clearly indicate pathogen levels in the region. For an elaborate read on this click here.

Read how VAPAR with its AI technology helps modern-day sewer and stormwater networks here.