Topics Sanitation

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

Black-and-white photo of industrial tank installation with smokestacks and factories in the background

Emscher Tank Installation at Essen Nord, Germany

Black-and-white image of two cylinders on a white surface

Effects of Expansion of Gas Bubbles in Enscher Sludge Shown in Right-Hand Cylinder

Black-and-white image of a tray with three compartments and four small glass cylinders

Drain water from sludges obtained from sedimentation, septic and Emscher tanks

Philadelphia Underground, Jan. 29, 1961

“Philadelphia Underground,” Jan. 29, 1961

Captain Sewer and Michael Nutter, 1998

Captain Sewer and Michael Nutter, 1998

30th Street Sewer

30th Street Sewer

Rudolph Hering

Rudolph Hering

Outhouse over Schuylkill near Pottstown

Outhouse over the Schuylkill near Pottstown

Sewage collection and disposal plan

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

Typical House Drainage, Combined and Separate Systems (2008.001.0032)

Typical house drainage

Diagram of the Philadelphia Water Department's wastewater treatment process

Wastewater Treatment Process diagram