008 Editorial
EDITORIAL le tte r
Water & Wastes Digest Business-to-business communications for more than 100 years
3030 W. Salt Creek Lane, Suite 201 Arlington Heights, IL 60005-5025 847.298.6622 • F: 847.390.0408 www.wwdmag.com
E DI TOR I A L S TA F F
wastewater treatment:
from medieval to modern Sweeping progress has been made since the enactment of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1972. Led by the growing public concern about controlling water pollution, the CWA has resulted in strict wastewater standards for industry. It established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into U.S. waters and funded the establishment of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program. Wastewater treatment is and always has been essential to human health by preventing the spread of deadly diseases and Neda Simeonova, editorial director protecting the environment. Even centuries ago, people were [email protected] coming up with rather ingenious ways to get rid of waste. I recently came across a very unique article in BBC News Magazine. It revealed contents of a rare medieval document, the Assize of Nuisance, which discussed some mind-blowing toilet inventions and waste management techniques from some 700 years ago in 14th-century London. According to the document, a 700-year-old toilet was nothing more than a hole cut in a wooden platform over a cesspool. (Odor control not available.) The document reveals that a forward-thinking Londoner, who perhaps was unhappy with the functionality of the wooden platform toilet, built a toilet in her own residence. She engineered a wooden pipe that connected her toilet to a rainwater gutter that flushed a nearby public latrine. While extraordinarily inventive, the citizen was ordered by city authorities to remove the pipe because the solids from her toilet blocked the gutter and the stench greatly inconvenienced neighbors. Obviously, medieval cities lacked infrastructure that dealt with the disposal of human waste. Instead, waste was simply dumped into rivers or buried in the ground. And although there were rules forbidding the disposal of filth outside people’s homes, according to the article, these rules were mostly ignored. However, when the bubonic plague spread like wildfire across London in the late 1340s, city officials passed stricter laws to clean up the waterways, forbidding waste dumping into the Thames and other water bodies. The article also mentions some rather amusing professions added to the city payroll, including: muckrakers, the first street cleaners, who collected filth and took it outside the city walls; surveyor of the pavement, the first bin men; and gong farmers, who cleared out cesspits, latrines and privies. Needless to say, a lot has changed in waste management since medieval times, and not just in the form of regulations and standards. Advances in wastewater collection and treatment technologies have not only made a difference in water quality and environmental protection, but also have helped tackle water scarcity through effective reuse and recycling practices. Both energy-smart and alternative technologies have reduced facilities’ carbon footprint and operating expenses. Only time will tell how far technology development will go just in the next decade alone, not to mention centries from now. One thing is certain—wastewater treatment will forever have a large impact on society.
Editorial Director Neda Simeonova
Managing Editor Caitlin Cunningham
Associate Editor Elizabeth Lisican
Associate Editor Kate Cline
Associate Editor Leslie Streicher
Designer Robin Hicks
adv ertisi ng & S A L E S 7150 E. Camelback, Suite 325 • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 tel: 480.941.0510 • fax: 480.423.1443 Integrated Media Consultant David Rairigh [email protected] (phone x25) Integrated Media Consultant Fred Ferris [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1003) Integrated Media Consultant John Rogier [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1053) Integrated Media Consultant Celeste Scarfi [email protected] (phone x12) Classified Sales Manager Donna Aly [email protected] (phone x13) Reprint Coordinator Adrienne Miller [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1036) List Rental Contact John Ganis 914.368.1024 Advertising Coordinator Erica Rivera [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1049)
MA N A G E ME N T Vice President/Group Publisher Dennis Martyka [email protected] Associate Publisher Greg Tres [email protected]
VP Custom Publishing Diane Vojcanin & Creative Services
VP Events Harry Urban
VP Information Technology Joel Hughes
Director of Doug Riemer Audience Development
Director of Creative Services Sandi Stevenson & Promotions
C OR P OR AT E
Chairperson K.S. Gillette
President/CEO E.S. Gillette
Sr. Vice President A. O’Neill
Sr. Vice President, CFO Dave Shreiner
Chairman Emeritus H.S. Gillette (1922-2003)
E DI TOR I A L A DV I S ORY B OA R D
Dr. YuJung Chang HDR Engineering Inc. Paul Rice Siemens Water Technologies Dawn C. Kristof Champney WWEMA
Tom Mills Severn Trent Services
Dr. Larry W. Moore University of Memphis
Andy Richardson Greeley & Hansen LLC
Chuck Reading REACO Associates LLC
Scranton Gillette Communications’ Infrastructure Team
COMING UP NEXT MONTH... • Infrastructure Management • Aeration • Pumps
• Water Conservation • Power Generation • Groundwater Remediation
Water & Wastes Digest Business-to-business communications for more than 100 years
3030 W. Salt Creek Lane, Suite 201 Arlington Heights, IL 60005-5025 847.298.6622 • F: 847.390.0408 www.wwdmag.com
E DI TOR I A L S TA F F
wastewater treatment:
from medieval to modern Sweeping progress has been made since the enactment of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1972. Led by the growing public concern about controlling water pollution, the CWA has resulted in strict wastewater standards for industry. It established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into U.S. waters and funded the establishment of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program. Wastewater treatment is and always has been essential to human health by preventing the spread of deadly diseases and Neda Simeonova, editorial director protecting the environment. Even centuries ago, people were [email protected] coming up with rather ingenious ways to get rid of waste. I recently came across a very unique article in BBC News Magazine. It revealed contents of a rare medieval document, the Assize of Nuisance, which discussed some mind-blowing toilet inventions and waste management techniques from some 700 years ago in 14th-century London. According to the document, a 700-year-old toilet was nothing more than a hole cut in a wooden platform over a cesspool. (Odor control not available.) The document reveals that a forward-thinking Londoner, who perhaps was unhappy with the functionality of the wooden platform toilet, built a toilet in her own residence. She engineered a wooden pipe that connected her toilet to a rainwater gutter that flushed a nearby public latrine. While extraordinarily inventive, the citizen was ordered by city authorities to remove the pipe because the solids from her toilet blocked the gutter and the stench greatly inconvenienced neighbors. Obviously, medieval cities lacked infrastructure that dealt with the disposal of human waste. Instead, waste was simply dumped into rivers or buried in the ground. And although there were rules forbidding the disposal of filth outside people’s homes, according to the article, these rules were mostly ignored. However, when the bubonic plague spread like wildfire across London in the late 1340s, city officials passed stricter laws to clean up the waterways, forbidding waste dumping into the Thames and other water bodies. The article also mentions some rather amusing professions added to the city payroll, including: muckrakers, the first street cleaners, who collected filth and took it outside the city walls; surveyor of the pavement, the first bin men; and gong farmers, who cleared out cesspits, latrines and privies. Needless to say, a lot has changed in waste management since medieval times, and not just in the form of regulations and standards. Advances in wastewater collection and treatment technologies have not only made a difference in water quality and environmental protection, but also have helped tackle water scarcity through effective reuse and recycling practices. Both energy-smart and alternative technologies have reduced facilities’ carbon footprint and operating expenses. Only time will tell how far technology development will go just in the next decade alone, not to mention centries from now. One thing is certain—wastewater treatment will forever have a large impact on society.
Editorial Director Neda Simeonova
Managing Editor Caitlin Cunningham
Associate Editor Elizabeth Lisican
Associate Editor Kate Cline
Associate Editor Leslie Streicher
Designer Robin Hicks
adv ertisi ng & S A L E S 7150 E. Camelback, Suite 325 • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 tel: 480.941.0510 • fax: 480.423.1443 Integrated Media Consultant David Rairigh [email protected] (phone x25) Integrated Media Consultant Fred Ferris [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1003) Integrated Media Consultant John Rogier [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1053) Integrated Media Consultant Celeste Scarfi [email protected] (phone x12) Classified Sales Manager Donna Aly [email protected] (phone x13) Reprint Coordinator Adrienne Miller [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1036) List Rental Contact John Ganis 914.368.1024 Advertising Coordinator Erica Rivera [email protected] (Arlington Heights office, 847.391.1049)
MA N A G E ME N T Vice President/Group Publisher Dennis Martyka [email protected] Associate Publisher Greg Tres [email protected]
VP Custom Publishing Diane Vojcanin & Creative Services
VP Events Harry Urban
VP Information Technology Joel Hughes
Director of Doug Riemer Audience Development
Director of Creative Services Sandi Stevenson & Promotions
C OR P OR AT E
Chairperson K.S. Gillette
President/CEO E.S. Gillette
Sr. Vice President A. O’Neill
Sr. Vice President, CFO Dave Shreiner
Chairman Emeritus H.S. Gillette (1922-2003)
E DI TOR I A L A DV I S ORY B OA R D
Dr. YuJung Chang HDR Engineering Inc. Paul Rice Siemens Water Technologies Dawn C. Kristof Champney WWEMA
Tom Mills Severn Trent Services
Dr. Larry W. Moore University of Memphis
Andy Richardson Greeley & Hansen LLC
Chuck Reading REACO Associates LLC
Scranton Gillette Communications’ Infrastructure Team
COMING UP NEXT MONTH... • Infrastructure Management • Aeration • Pumps
• Water Conservation • Power Generation • Groundwater Remediation
