Sanitation Acts (water Supply, Pollution)

Question 1

Benefits of the joesph bazalgettes sewers ?

Answer 1

• new sewers intercepted the sewage in the old sewers, taking the sewage out to the sea instead of the water in the river and polluting it
• other towns copied bazalgettes design so other towns health improved
• new pipes carrying drinking water into people’s houses so improved health
• meant cholera no longer a problem (it was the last cholera epidemic)

Question 2

Limitations for Joseph bazalgette sewers ?

Answer 2

None

Question 3

Opposition to joesph bazalgette sewers?

Answer 3

None

Question 4

1876 rivers pollution act details ?

Answer 4

Attempted to prevent the dumping of industrial effluent in rivers

Question 5

1876 rivers pollution act benefits ?

Answer 5

None

Question 6

1876 rivers pollution act limitations ?

Answer 6

The act had very little effect

Question 7

1876 rivers pollution act opposition ?

Answer 7

MPs representing constituencies with powerful industrial companies in them made sure the bill was weakened before it became the law.

Question 8

1875 public health act causes ?

Answer 8

Government persuaded parliament to pass a series of laws aiming at winning working class votes.

Question 9

1875 public health act details -

Answer 9

The act forced town councils to provide clean water and proper sewers.
All towns now carried out improvements

Question 10

1875 public health act benefits ?

Answer 10

Meant housing, water supplies improved in all towns !

Question 11

1875 public health act limitations

Answer 11

None

Question 12

1875 public health act opposition ?

Answer 12

None

Question 13

1848 public health act causes ?

Answer 13

Government response to cholera epidemic - they had to take action !

Question 14

1848 public health act details -

Answer 14

• this act gave local councils the right to improve public health in their town and powers if they wanted to
• the act also set up a board of health in London to supervise what the town councils did

Question 15

1848 public health act benefits ?

Answer 15

• the act made it cheaper for local councils to adopt public health powers
• there was no force to improve public health - it was choice - they could only force it if the death rate became very high

Question 16

1848 public health act limitations ?

Answer 16

The government decided to shut the board of health down in 1858

Question 17

1848 public health act opposition ?

Answer 17

The government had shown they were still not prepared to take responsibility for public health

• the liberals (Whigs) wanted to keep taxes as low as possible & the conservatives wanted to protect rights of property owners
• laissez faire
• ratepayers wanted local rates to be kept as low as possible

Question 18

Causes of the 1858 Joseph basal getters sewers ?

Answer 18

Government - the river Thames became very polluted M.Ps were terrified they would catch cholera from the miasma coming from the Thames so they quickly passed an act ordering the engineer Joseph bazalgette to build new sewers.