Topics Streams & Rivers

Sewers, Pollution, and Public Health in 19th Century Philadelphia

Petition of manufacturers along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia for a new upstream water supply, 1868

The Water Supply Problem of Philadelphia, 1899

Oak Lane Reservoir pipeline, 1904

The Water and Drainage History of Philadelphia: A seven-part course

Birkinbine Schuylkill Hydrographical Survey 1861-66

Two reports on the state of the Schuylkill River, 1867

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

Black-and-white image of a brick sewer outlet that drains into a creek with trees and a hill behind it

Thomas Run sewer outlet at Cobbs Creek

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