Boston’s sewage problems are much older and complex than I had initially anticipated before these readings.
One striking fact that I learned during these readings was the privatization of many of the sewer systems early on, which later on led to unknown sewage pipes and systems throughout the city. When the city began to attempt to make a city-wide system, they could not determine where all of the early-on sewer pipes were located, which made this an extremely complex system and problem for Boston to solve when re-making it. This was very interesting because it led to a vast unorganized system of these pipes, many of which would overlap and cross over throughout the city. When Boston had to change this, it made it a much larger and more expensive project than they would have ever thought.
In addition to this, Boston was known as a gross city due to its sewage issues and its improper management and cleanliness. One particularly striking issue with this waste was in regards to its disposal into the Charles River, as the sewage was often let out at poor times, leading the sewage to be redeposited on the banks of the Charles. This led to many health hazards and concerns, especially as the Charles is such a relevant Boston river. Many songs and pop culture still reference this modernly, whether in the song Dirty Water by the Standells or other still relevant culture, which is impressive considering how long ago this issue began, decades ago.
Though many of these issues nowadays are being resolved and are much improved compared to the past, it was such a distinct part of Boston that we still know of this today– showing the large influence this had on the city as a whole. I still don’t know anyone that swims in the Charles (and I still hope that nobody does). It reminds me of the Seine, in Paris, which showed the effects of swimming and how being in this type of contaminated water is a major health concern (though the Seine is still much dirtier than the Charles nowadays). Though, Boston had a 20 year head start on cleaning up the river, as the EPA pushed for a cleaner river in the 1990s, and the Seine was much more recent for the Olympics, closer to 2015.