A MINE OF WEALTH - THE VICTORIANS AND THE AGRICULTURAL VALUE OF SEWAGE

Victorian Britain experienced acute problems of sewage disposal which were brought about by the expansion nf population and its agglomeratio n into large urban areas. Sanitarians condemned the inadequacy of trad itional methods of waste removal, but the gradual extension of the dis posal of refuse by water led to the pollution of natural watercourses, and the costs of the construction of sewerage systems put an extensiv e financial burden on urban ratepayers. An essential part of the long Victorian debate on improved sanitation was the belief that sewage was a valuable commodity, the agricultural utilization of which would gen erate substantial income to offset the costs associated with sanitary reforms. It took nearly half-a-century for it to be established that o ptimism on this count was misplaced, and this article examines the cou rse of the debate with particular reference to Victorian attitudes to resource conservation, environmental values and the relationships betw een town and country. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited