Parisian Sewerage from 1789-1900
By 1826, the Paris sewers were in terrible shape and were maintained
a corp of only twenty-four sewermen. They unclogged unmaintained
sewers such as Amelot, whose hardened sewage reaches the ceiling.
Like coal miners, the sewermen extract the sewage with spades,
called rabots, being "careful not to undercut the mass of solid rotting
matter
for fear of roof falls". The sand was worse, as it could only be removed
manually. This was only done when organic matter was rotting in it and then,
only at night.
Felix Nadar Photo of the Sewer System 1861
Sewer Visits are at 93 Quai D'Orsay in the 7th Arrondissement
Popular riots of 1830 and 1848 were initiated against the rich, the doctors
and the state. The ties of revolution and disease became further entrenched;
therefore, a well maintained sewer, it was believed, would combat disease
and revolution. Between 1832-34, 14 km were laid. These sewers were built
with cement mortar and millstone; they had oval floors to make flushing
out
easier. This building method was cheaper, easier and faster to construct
than
the previous method. By 1840, the sewer system was already up to 96 km.
Felix Nadar Photo of Watermains in Sewers 1861
Buildings were hooked up to two watermains, potable and non potable.
Reservoirs were constructed to increase the water pressure to all floors
of
the building. The kitchen and bathroom were generally separated from the
rest
of the apartment due to the smells, but these room were introduced back
into
the apartment with the successful intergration of water and drains. Solving
the crude aesthetics of these new utilities--when incorporated into an existing
building--is done by having the pipes introduced through the back of the
building. Water was first introduced into the kitchen, as the tiled environment
was believed to be able to withstand the humidity. The introduction of running
water into the bathroom happened later, during Haussmann's period, as many
feel that water and cold tiles were unhealthy. Early toilets were cast iron
tanks connected to cesspools; the traditional ceramic toilet with a water
tank
appears at the end of the 18th century. The traditional bathroom, with hot
and cold running water, was a development of the beginning of the 20th century.
Early Tub and Toilet from the Encyclopedia
In 1852, a reversal in policy stated that homes were to have direct sewer
hookup
for wastewater, besides the cesspools. Haussmann understood that all homes
must be hooked up for the sewers to be truly effective. Belgrand designed
the sewers to the natural incline of the river basin, south east to north
west, for
gravity to do most of the work. The sewers sloped 3cm to the meter so as
not
to be too slippery for the sewermen, and all sewer arteries were tall enough
to work standing up. The larger ones had paths along side the cunette. The
sewers worked like a capillary network, running to large collector sewers--five
at the end of the century--which the carried the waste north of the city.
These
sewers rarely flooded and carried street and household water only. Haussmann
did not want his work contaminated with human excrement.
The maintenance of the sewers was performed by an expanded corp of
sewermen, and effective cleaning methods were developed. Instead of constant
water flow, period flushing of the sewers was accomplished several ways:
sluice gates, sluice carts and sluice boats --a metal plate was screwed
down
vertically in the back, sewage backs up behind it, and strong currents flush
the
rest in front of the boat. The boat moved along by the pressure of the
sewerage through the galleries and returned to its initial starting point
by
manually pulling it back to this day since motors could cause an explosion.
Canal De L'Ourcq at Parc de La Villette, 1990. F. Krupa
The sewage dump moved from Montfaucon to Bondy in 1850, much farther north
of the city. The complex sewage transport process required cesspool cleaners
to unload their barrels at La Villette. Then, solid waste was sent in hermetically
sealed containers by boat while liquids were sent by a pipeline to Bondy.
This
operation continued until the 1870s, when lease negotiation faltered and
Bondy
reached capacity. Of the 100,000 cubic meters of solid waste, one/third
decomposed,
and one/third simply washed into the Seine. Suburban dumpsites developed
making lucrative deals with the city. Twenty-four suburban dumpsites
existed in 1880 -- many producing ammonium sulfate, whose smell reaches
all parts of Paris. The smell was blamed on sewers, not the real culprits.
Nadar Sewer Photo 1861 (Artificially lit)
The Paris sewers opened for public tours during the Exposition of 1867.
These popular tours took place in luxury sluice carts and boats with
white-clad sewermen pushing them along. People wore their fine clothes
for the tour, since the sewers were immaculate. The attraction of these
modern, technological structures--no longer a source of disgust and
fear--represented the government that made them happen as a beacon of
order and reason. Sewer tours go on to this day, but the humiliating practice
of using sewermen as motors ended in the 20th century. Public tours of the
Catacombes began in 1874. Taken during the 1860s, Felix Nadar's
artificially lit photos of sewers and the catacombes
illustrate the modern
fascination with these new environments. (Attraction to these photography
subjects may seem strange to contemporary viewers.) The technique
was so experimental that shots could take twenty minute, making
mannequins necessary.
In 1867-68, Mille and Durand-Claye began testing sewage treatment by
filtration and irrigation at La Villette, with incredible results. Many
people,
including Belgrand, favored chemical treatment of sewage. Filtration was
important, but Belgrand felt that irrigation was just too expensive to make
"a few thousand acres more fertile." Mille and Durand-Claye move
their
operation to Gennevilliers after getting funding. The Franco-Prussian
War emphasized the need for a nearby food supply and the Seine needed
cleansing. Using sewerage, they made sandy infertile soil produce an
amazing variety of crops, even aromatic plants for perfumers. The sewage
kept the earth warmer in winter, extending the growing season, and did not
freeze in cold weather. This method became the principle method of
sewage treatment up to the 1920s. Toxic industrial waste and the
bourgeoisie's refusal to allow sewage farming in their suburban communities
halted sewerage farming in its tracks.
In the 1870s, the presence of cesspool cleaners on the street was no longer
tolerated. Engineers, including Mille and Durand-Claye, push for
"tout-a-l'egout," ie. all in the sewer. This has already been
implemented
in Brussels, London and Berlin. Haussmann knew this was inevitable
but did not want his project soiled with feces and urine. The arguments
for and against were fought through out the 1870s and 1880s; those against
it were the cesspool cleaning companies and a large part of the medical
establishment. Louis Pasteur favors dumping at sea because the treatment
did not kill the organism well enough. Others felt the sewer system was
too
large and slow to handle human sewage, which would fester and infect the
air with disease causing "miasmas". (The odors from the dumps
in the
1880s were blamed on the sewers.)
In 1883, a regulation was passed for furnished buildings to have one toilet
for every twenty people. Water for individual unit was still a luxury. Workers
lived in filth, as bathhouses and laundry cleaning were too expensive.
Baths and showers for workers's accommodations were still considered
controversial at the turn of the 20th century.
In 1892, cholera's final major reappearnace raised public support for
"tout-a -l'egout." Poubelle passed an ordinance that landlords
must provide
sewers to dispose of excrements and must pay for the service. In 1899,
the beltway sewer was closed, ending the dumping of untreated sewerage
in the Seine.
