历史小径·世界史英语30篇（1）

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伦敦之渴：水、霍乱与公共卫生的诞生

In 1854, London had no clean water system, and sewage flowed into the Thames River daily.
Dr. John Snow mapped cholera cases near Broad Street and linked them to a contaminated water pump.
His evidence challenged the miasma theory and showed disease could spread through dirty water.
City leaders slowly accepted that clean water supply was essential for urban survival.
Engineer Joseph Bazalgette then designed a vast underground sewer network for London.
By 1875, over 1,100 miles of sewers carried waste away from homes and rivers.
This infrastructure shift made cities safer and inspired similar projects in Paris, Berlin, and New York.
Water testing, filtration, and chlorination later became global standards for municipal systems.
Public health law now required governments to guarantee safe drinking water for all citizens.
Today’s water rights movements still echo those 19th-century struggles for equity and access.