ABSTRACT
European foundries mastered the art of mass-producing cast iron pipes in the early 1800s (Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, 2006, p1). Slow sand filters, buried pipes with bell-and-spigot joints, steam-powered pumps and water towers make for a universally applicable technology for urban water supply. Piped water systems enjoy a long service life and modest operational costs, but require high initial outlays of capital. In addition, pipe-laying raises complex right-of-way issues (Meidinger, 1980). Around 1850 it was by no means certain that buried water infrastructure could hold its own against contending modes of urban water supply. Cost wise, it certainly could not compete against local water sources such as shallow wells and canals. By 1900, however, piped supply was establishing itself as the dominant source of domestic water in European and North American cities. Seventy years on, piped networks were the sole source of urban domestic water. 1 A parallel network of buried sewers carried the large volumes of piped water away from urban homes.
