![]() Here, the solids would settle and the liquids would overflow into the drainage channels that led to the street sewers. The wastewater was channeled through tapered terra-cotta pipes into small sumps. Houses were connected to a drainage system and wastewater was treated before being released into the street sewers. The community here had impressive urban planning with efficient municipal governance that took sanitation pretty seriously. The earliest sophisticated waste management system was in the Indus valley (26-1700 BC). some of these drainage systems carried waste into pit latrines while some carried the waste into cesspits. Archeologists found ruins of homes from Ur and Babylonian that had drainage systems connected to them. The Mesopotamia empire (3,500 – 2,500 BC) was the first to solve the sanitation problem. ![]() The earliest documented evidence is found in the Mosaic law which described the disposal of human waste by burying it in the ground (Deuteronomy 23). The lack of records makes it hard to assess sanitation conditions of the early ages. With this new way of life, disposing of raw waste in nature came with notable ecological impacts. The challenge, however, was when mankind started adapting to changing needs and established permanent settlements some 10,000 years ago during the agrarian revolution. Because these early humans were largely nomadic and few in number, this form of waste disposal was never an issue. The first modern humans (Homo Sapiens) were scattered over large areas and their waste was returned directly to the land where it decomposed through natural cycles. ![]() Age of meticulous environmental standards.The industrial age (a time of sanitary enlightenment).The history of septic systems can be broken down into the following noteworthy timelines: But understanding the history of septic systems will help us appreciate the steps that we have taken over the years to improve wastewater management. Granted, what flows in today’s sewer systems is quite different from what flowed in sewers in Victor Hugo’s time. In 1892, Victor Hugo famously wrote, “the history of men is reflected in the history of sewers.” He was somewhat right. ![]()
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