Roman drainage systems that influenced the world

Home

The Romans were an incredible group of people who have had an influence on many of the modern ways of living. From developing our road network right through to the ways in which we sanitise our homes, there is no doubt that they were revolutionary in the way they developed new and interesting methods for dealing with everyday problems and issues.

Image Credit

One such problem was how best to keep their homes and streets from overflowing with wastewater. As a result of this they developed a sewage system which allowed the waste to travel away from the homes, out of the streets and into the nearby rivers so that it could be carried away. Although it wasn’t as sophisticated as the systems we have now and we are lucky to have companies like Drain lining Slough based https://www.drainpower.co.uk/drainage-services/drain-lining/drain-lining-slough/ so that we don’t need to send someone down into the drains, they certainly paved the way for our modern drain and sewage systems.

Image Credit

The Cloaca Maxima was the largest of the sewers that they built and transported the waste products from Rome into the Tiber River. It was built originally to help with stormwater drainage but soon took on taking wastewater from the homes. It is an incredible 20 feet wide and 1020 feet long. It is possible to still see the remains of some of the sewer on a visit to ancient Rome today.