Historical Development of Waste Water Management

A large amount of research and literature has focused on the historical development of water supply systems and the related hydraulic infrastructure in ancient civilizations; however, there is a lack of corresponding information on wastewater management in ancient civilizations. This is somewhat surprising since the lack of sanitation affects human development to the same or even greater extent as the lack of clean water. The purpose of this chapter is to trace the development of wastewater technologies of ancient civilizations. In addition, this chapter examines the continuation of the technological applications through centuries to more recent times.