How did London get rid of the Great Stink?

The government's response during the early days of the stink was to douse the curtains of the Houses of Parliament in chloride of lime, before embarking on a final desperate measure to cure lousy old Father Thames by pouring chalk lime, chloride of lime and carbolic acid directly into the water.



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With the government in the summer of 1858 greenlighting affirmative action, engineering genius Sir Joseph Bazalgette could start work on his ambitious new drainage system for London. It began in earnest in 1859, was finished in 1875, and by 1887, the dumping of sewage into the Thames had stopped completely.

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The Thames is considered to be the cleanest river in the world that flows through a major city. The Thames is home to 125 species of fish and more than 400 invertebrates. This is in spite of the fact that raw sewage is routinely pumped into the river during heavy rains.

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For the cleanest water in Europe: The Lobau River, Austria Just east of Vienna, the Lobau River runs through the Donau-Auen National Park.

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