Neighborhoods All of Philadelphia

Philadelphia drinking water 90+ years ago

Sewer systems, City of Philadelphia, 1927 and 1929

William Penn balks at drinking the "mixed drink" offered him: Schuylkill water, mixed with pollution from the upstream sources named. Editorial cartoon by Fred Morgan, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 6, 1899. One of a series of cartoons drawn by Morgan protesting the state of the city's drinking water and trying to encourage the passage of legislation authorizing the construction of a water filtration system.

Half a Century of Clean Water: The Clean Water Act, 1972-2022

Philadelphia Underground, Jan. 29, 1961

“Philadelphia Underground,” Jan. 29, 1961

Flashback Friday … the 13th!

A list of rules governing the sanitary maintenance of privy vaults in Philadelphia in 1915

Be Thankful You Don’t Live in Pre-Flush Philly