SOCIETY

Risk society

In the mid-19th century Gdansk was a growing military harbour of the Kingdom of Prussia. The population of the city was 64,000 in 1849 and every fifth man of the city was a soldier. The population grew rapidly: 87,700 in 1861 and 98,000 persons in 1875. The population growth was hindered by the high death rate, as more people died than were born. In 1851-1855 the death rate was 47/1000. This high mortality was caused by water-borne diseases and epidemics. At that time only wealthy citizens could acquire safe spring water transported in barrels as it was quite expensive and scantily available.

Waste from diseased people easily contaminated the water sources and caused an increased risk of epidemics. Wastewater from households was collected in buckets and dumped into small open ditches constructed along the main streets. Shallow wells were situated in the streets, in the yards or even in the cellars of the individual houses. The old water supply system based on the Radunia Channel, consisting of wooden pipes and wells, was no longer able to supply clean water.

New system

The need for a new sanitary infrastructure became obvious, even to the politicians. An important step was taken in 1863 when L. von Winter, previous president of the police in Berlin, was chosen to be the new mayor of the city. The economic situation of the municipality was also very good because of its extensive trade relations. With von Winter, a new era in the city began.

The mayor employed experts to design a new water supply and sewerage system. Civil engineers E. Wiebe, F.L. Horbrecht and Veitmayer and an English sanitary engineer, B. Latham, were hired. They immediately went to England and France to acquire the latest information on the development of sanitary technology.

Designing started in 1863 and all documents were completed in 1865 and published in two volumes under the title "The water supply and sewer system of the city of Gdansk". The first volume contains a description of the investment with all costs and the second volume contains all maps and drawings (1865). The material was presented to the public. The final decision was made in 1869, and the Berlin firm J. and A. Aird was employed for the construction. The Pregowo water intake plant was completed in 1869. The main pipes for the water supply and sewer system were ready by 1871, and the wastewater treatment plant in spring 1872. This system is partly in use today.

The general principle of new system was the efficient use of gravity. The drinking water was taken from the high moraine hills 20 km from the city; pure, untreated groundwater was delivered in pipes. The water supply was designed for 100,000 persons and water use was 100 litres per person per day.

Wastewater was collected and pumped mechanically to the Stogi plant, whose purification process took place on irrigation fields (320 ha) in form of biofilm treatment. After the treatment the wastewater was discharged into the Vistula River close to the Baltic coast. The treatment plant was located on the sand dunes close to the sea. The sewerage system was designed for all 3887 houses of the city in 1871.

The quality of wastewater and river water was investigated by the local apothecary O. Helm in 1875 and 1884.

Assessment and replication

The sewerage system was described in several contemporary publications and copied in many other cities. The same design was repeated in Bremen in 1877 (400 ha), in Breslau (Wroclaw) (1778 ha) in 1881, in Berlin (12,300 ha) in 1884 and in Königsberg (Kaliningrad) (800 ha) in 1899. Several elements of the system were later replicated in various towns.

Articles

Piotr Kowalik
The significance of engineering and technology in the history
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