Drinking water supply and sanitation in Burgundie

Following the discovery of microbes in water in the the 1670s by Burgundian silk merchant Carol-Emile Quincie, a group of interested scientifically minded individuals sampled well water at critical times in Vilauristran history from the 1690s through the 1780s. Their notes provided invaluable insight into waterborne pathogens in the city and their perceived impact. Their methods were hardly scientific and were referenced with a wide margin of error, but their general hypotheses were the basis of the adoption of the purveyance of clean water to the populace as an issue of public health and financial security of the nascent nation of Burgundie during its initial decades of independence. It is also one of the factors that bridged the divide between the Bergendii from the Isle of Burgundie and Marialanus to the Feinii of the remainder of Ultmar. During the Northern Levantine Mediatization War, in 1813, Vilauristre was attacked by Feinii ships. The resulting fire burned much of the city to the ground and left a few hundred dead. The first was ultimately put out by a driving rain which also washed the remains of the dead into the surrounding water sources. The citizens demanded a safer, more reliable source of water. A water works was planned and construction started in 1814.

Vilauristre Water Works in 1835 engraving, with the reservoir abaft.

Vilauristre Water Works in 1874 and its environs.

Vilauristre Water Works between 1860 and 1880.

A contemporary view of the Vilauristre.

The Vilauristre Water Works pumping station and reservoir was opened in 1817 and originally consisted of 6 massive water wheels that were spun by a diversion in the river created by a weir. The 1.8 million gallons of water a day pumped into the reservoir fed a gravity system that was connected to a series of public baths, fountains, and for a fee private factories and residences. This led to a similar development in Port Diteaux, Bekshavn, Dorft, and Dormanshire by the war’s end in 1837. Work slowed as the loss of revenue from the Burgundian West Punth Trading Company set in. Smaller scale works were locally funded in a number of other provincial capitals until the advent of hydroelectric power generation in Burgundie in 1885. With the creation of the DAM in New Burgundie, hydroelectrical power became an obsession across the Burgoignesc Thalattocracy. Plants were built in New Burgundie, the Legatation of Ankivara, Sudmoll, Port de Vent, and Medimeria from the 1890s-1920s. These construction projects brought not only power, but consistent, clean water. The companies that owned these plants were eventually nationalized during the Great War and never returned to private ownership. Public water was never coupled with power generation in Levantine Burgundie because hydroelectric power was not fully realized in that region until after the public water systems were constructed. Standalone pumping stations abandoned the water wheel in favor of combustion pumps in the 1890s when demand seemed to be doubling each year. As sewer systems became more comprehensive, access to water mains was also increasing. In Vilauristre and Port Diteaux, by 1895 all new construction within one city block of an existing water main was required to have a municipal sewer connection and any new road within the city limits had to have a fire plug every 500 paces. These ordinances are considered the genesis of urban planning in Burgundie. By 1958 every urban center in the Burgoignesc Thalattocracy had 100% of their deeded residents on public water. During the urban decay of the 1960s in Burgundie and the focus of much of the nation’s resources on Operation Kipling, vast swathes of urbanized areas fell victim to blight and disuse. In order to preserve the value of remaining city property and infrastructure, returning veterans who were unable to secure jobs were given work deconstructing cities and removing the infrastructure. This was no sooner completed then a resurgence in the economy required the expansion of urban centers. This was an opportunity to build smart grids, such as they were in the late 1990s and early 2000s. More efficient street, water, and power plans were implemented. Superblocking was ‘’dejure’’ and modern materials for cleaner, more efficient water delivery were used. Monitoring stations and lead filtration systems were added at critical junctures in the new systems and water flow regulators helped regulate the flow to meet demand. By the 2010s, these once derelict city districts were some of the most desirable places to live in the nation.

Contents

1 History

1.1 Piped water supply until 1948

1.2 Sanitation until 1948

1.3 Supply and sanitation after 1948

2 Technical and environmental overview

2.1 Infrastructure

2.2 Water sources

2.3 Water use

3 Providers and regulators

4 Issues and responses

4.1 Scarcity

4.2 Pollution

4.3 Investment gap

4.4 Access

4.5 Pricing and affordability

4.6 Retiring workforce

4.7 Fluoridation

4.8 Supply-side management

4.9 Demand-side management

4.10 Water reuse

4.11 Pollution control

4.12 Governmental assistance

5 See also

History

Piped water supply until 1948

Sanitation until 1948

Supply and sanitation after 1948

Technical and environmental overview

Infrastructure

Water sources

Water use

Providers and regulators

Issues and responses

Scarcity

Pollution

Investment gap

Access

Pricing and affordability

Retiring workforce

Fluoridation

Supply-side management

Demand-side management

Water reuse

Pollution control

Governmental assistance