An epidemic of water born diseases in Chicago was rampant in the early 1880s. In order to stop the spread the diseases, Chicago exercised their right to reverse the flow of the once stagnant river, thus saving the lives of Chicago residents.
In the early 1880s, Chicago was a bustling city on its way to becoming one of great cities in the world. There was a problem though. Horrible sanitation problems plagued the city. The Chicago River was virtually an open sewer covered with visible filth. Most of the river’s worst pollution came from homes and bathroom waste thought the city. “Bubbly Creek” was one of the worst branches of the river. It was filled with enough stockyard waste to equal the pollution from a sizable city. To further the
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The Chicago River was shallow and stagnant, but it had much potential because of its location and what it provided to the city. The Chicago River altered the human population as Chicago developed into a big city. Because of the river factories and stock yards moved in and caused major problems for the city. The rise of Chicago's Stock Yards was a significant benefactor to the city's pollution problem. In the late1840s Chicago large stockyards moved into the city along the river and dumped all of the meat packing waste into the river. Because of this problems such as, sewage, factory waste, and other wastes over flowed the river, and badly polluted the river. Unfortunately the river was connected to Lake Michigan, the source of water for Chicago residents, drinking water became polluted and disease spread rapidly thought the city. Within months, waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid killed more than 3000 people per year. In 1836 construction began on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Unfortunately money was scarce and Canal commissioners had to construct a cheaper and more shallow canal where pumps were used to fill the canal. This did not solve the Epidemics around the city. In 1871, the Chicago broke loos and spread thought the city, the Chicago river was so dirty it caught on fire and caused more damage to the city. Something had to be done about the open sewer that was the Chicago …show more content…
The name Chicago comes from a American Indian word for the wild leeks that grew on the bank of the Chicago River.
In the early 1840s the Chicago river was a bubbling mess. Untreated sewage and industrial waste flowed into the Chicago River and was carried into Lake Michigan where it overwhelmed the drinking water intake. Because of this thousands of people died each year from water born diseases. Wild animals would walk across the sludge of the river. It was time for Chicago to take
...children to have the smallpox vaccination. Towns began building pure water systems and sewer systems, creating a much cleaner environment.
This book follows an esteemed doctor and a local clergyman who, together, are the heart of an investigation to solve the mystery of the cholera epidemic. In 1854 London was ravaged by a terrible outbreak of cholera, where within the span of mere weeks over five hundred people in the Soho district died. London, at the time, was a city of around two and a half million people, all crammed into a small area with no system for sewage removal. With overflowing cesspools, improper drainage of all the human and animal waste, and no system for guaranteed clean water, the people of London were in a bad state. They were essentially dumping all of their feces into their drinking water supply, a perfect environment for cholera to thrive.
Ever since Joliet first crossed the portage between the Chicago River and the Des Plaines River in 1673, explorers, investors, politicians, and farmers alike all agreed that constructing a canal across the continental divide could benefit them greatly. The canal would connect the two largest water systems in the United States, creating a continuous waterway between New York and New Orleans, but more importantly, place Chicago on perhaps the most valuable piece of real estate in North America and in the position to become an international city almost overnight.
Beginning in 1850, disease was underway again in Rio de Janeiro after being absent since 1686. In just three years, 6,500 people died of Yellow Fever. The fever disappeared for some time only to return again in the 1890’s where 14,944 died of the disease. Between 1850 and 1901, 56,000 people died of Yellow Fever alone. In response to all the diseases, the Central Board of Public Hygiene was created and they had to act fast in order to prevent any more deaths. The Central Board of Public Hygiene’s job was to lay plumbing underground that would be the underground sewage system. This reform was supposed to eliminate “waste” on the streets and to have cleaner water throughout the city. Instead, disease worsened as the years went on. Of course, like most issues, someone was to blame and those who were blamed were the servants that lived on the streets and worked in the houses. It was obvious that since they were living in the filth they were clearly spreading the disease and when they would work in the houses of their servants they would pass the disease down to the children and the rest of the household. This eventually led to the destruction of cortiços.
The Madison Lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows was looking for a way to “regain the momentum it had lost to the railroads with a public drinking fountain (Untitled).” “Crozier told Joe that they needed something out of the normal order to catch the attention and interest of the public (Untitled).” “There’s not one place in Madison where a stranger can get a drink of water (Untitled).” “Why don’t we Odd Fellows take the lead, conduct a campaign, install a good, clean drinking fountain in Madison with pure water, and make it all happen next Spring (Untitled)?” The individual lodges did not want to spend money from their treasury to build the fountains. So after many meetings, they decided to have a Grand Fair to raise money to build the fountain. The great flood of 1884 came “roaring down the Ohio River in late January or early February (Untitled).” The flood left many homeless, put the fountain on hold, and took the city three months to recover. The people who did not want a fountain to begin with began arguing that there should be sources of fresh drinking water above flood levels and that the fountain business needed to be put to rest and that the money needed to be spent on driven wells and hydrants. After a vote of 5-4, the original fountain plan was carried out. The next dilemma the Odd...
The historian Richard White states the Columbia River, located in the states of Washington and Oregon in the Northwest portion of the United States, as an Organic Machine made by arguments that the habitat established by the environment dictates the survival of mankind. It was previously assumed that mankind dictates the laws of its existence and that the environment is simply a small obstacle that can be overcome. Richard White proves former beliefs about the relationship between mankind and its environment or habitat untrue through the book The Organic Machine by showing the reader why the Columbia River is a perfect example of an organic machine, how organic machines affect lives and different civilizations, and how the alterations that mankind makes can effect the river as a whole.
It isn’t correct to suggest that London had no regards towards public health prior to Dr. Snow’s efforts. The city had organized a sewer to clear away waste water from the streets, private companies cleared out cesspits and outhouses, and others companies delivered plumbed water to those who could afford it to name just
The filth of the cities promoted the spread of disease faster than doctors could discover a cure. This encouraged large outbreaks of many deadly diseases. And it is said that throughout this period there were people who went about the cities and towns with wagons calling "Bring out your dead!" in a fashion similar to that of the Medieval era during the bubonic plague (Which, by the way, was not yet a dead disease).
The Colorado River Delta is a vast stream of water that begins in the Rocky Mountains and flows to the Gulf of California. It is the primary source of water for the western part of the United States, making the golden nectar available to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Mexico. Because of miscellaneous international treaties and over 40 dams built along the river’s path (Ficklin 1), it is slowly becoming the most controlled of all watersheds. With the populations of these towns becoming greater, the amount of pull on the river from the society has increased as a rapid rate. Normally that would not be a problem but given the context, water sources are not as dynamic--fluid, if you will, as the world would often appreciate.
American towns industrialized all throughout the nineteenth century, irresistible ailments developed as a genuine danger. The presentation of new workers and the development of vast urban zones permitted already confined sicknesses to spread rapidly and contaminate larger populations. As industrialization occurred, towns developed into cities, and people relocated to them. The expanded interest for shoddy lodging by urban vagrants prompted ineffectively assembled homes that poorly accommodated individual cleanliness. Outside laborers in the nineteenth century frequently lived in cramped dwellings that consistently lacked fundamental comforts, for example, running water, ventilation, and toilets. These conditions were perfect for the spread
The newly industrialized U.S. had also experienced an increase in urbanization that led to a decline in public health and sanitation. Diseases like smallpox and yellow fever quickly began to spread from city to city, taking the lives of innocent citizens. These outbreaks led to an eventual focus on public health and Jenner’s vaccine was distributed to help stop the spread of smallpox. This an example of how far Edward Jenner ideas were spread and the impact he had all over the globe.( Jennifer Stock, Vol 5: Development of a Nation,
"Water Pollution." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.
The first evidence for proving the importance of the water in urban development is that the Hidden Falls creek brings a place where people is able to have recreational activities. For instance, the Hidden Falls provides people with a natural fishing court, because the quality of water in the past kept well. Its good quality of water supported the basic living conditions for the aquatic plants, as well as the fish. The microbe of
Hennigan, Robert D. "Water Pollution." Oxford University Press 19.11 (1969): 976-78. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
The. Drinking Water: A History. New York: Overlook Duckworth, 2012. Print. The.