Time Periods 1850-1900

Mill Creek Sewer under construction. Several men standing beside a giant partially constructed sewer pipe.

Mill Creek Sewer under construction, 1883

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.

“A Decidedly Mixed Drink,” April 6, 1899

30th Street Sewer

30th Street Sewer

Outhouse over Schuylkill near Pottstown

Outhouse over the Schuylkill near Pottstown

McDonnell filter advertisement

McConnell Germ-Proof Filters ad

Sewage collection and disposal plan

Plan for the Collection, Purification and Disposal of the Sewage of the City of Philadelphia, 1912