Raising another stink

On the 150th anniversary of the Great Stink, a new film demands similar grand plans. The anniversary of the Great Stink is today well worth celebrating not least because, in the West, we no longer worry about premature death from cholera or other diseases, but more significantly because it represented big thinking and massive public investment that transformed lives. It is interesting that the UK Department for International Development (DFID) is also commemorating this anniversary. DFID have pledged £200 million to Africa by 2010 to provide toilets and better sanitation for nearly 75 million people. International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “Sewage running through the streets of London and the stench from the River Thames led to the closing of Parliament in 1858 – 150 years on this is still a living reality for communities across Africa and Asia.” In memory of the Great Stink, the UK charity WORLDwrite in partnership with Chew on it productions are delighted to announce the completion and premiere of Flush it. A film which proposes more serious development than DFID’s paltry scheme. This timely documentary will show on Sunday 2nd November at the Battle of Ideas Festival at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London. Just 150 years ago, in the unusually hot summer of 1858, London’s river Thames was reduced to an overwhelming stench that pervaded the city. The ‘Great Stink’ that emanated from the river was intolerable, so much so, that parliament was suspended for the day. Grim urban living conditions in industrial England had fuelled the spread of cholera and by 1858 four epidemics had swept the country killing 30,000 people in London alone. Everyone was terrified that the fumes of the great stink were pestilential. An Act was hastily passed through parliament to pump £3 million – at that time a sum unheard of – into giving the city’s antiquated sewage system, designed to cope only with rainwater, a complete overhaul. Joseph Bazelgette’s great sewer-building project began soon after. London’s improved sewerage system linked all the street sewer pipes to a much bigger sewer which ran parallel to the Thames and fed out into the open sea, preventing excrement from “backing up” in the Thames on the tide, leading to far better sanitation. The project was completed in just six years, and cholera became a distant memory. The sewage system was an engineering feat of its time and was adopted by city planners throughout Europe and the U.S. Britain became a pioneer in the sciences of urban planning and public health. Unlike the major investment by the Victorians, DFIDs pledge comes to a mere £2.60 a head. Will this provide both the necessary sewage infrastructure and toilets that are supposed to change lives today? The maths says ‘no’. Sadly, unalike the grand thinking of the Victorians, perhaps the British government imagines that bore holes are a revolution and will do for Africa. By contrast, WORLDwrite’s upcoming film, Flush It is watery but never so wet. The film interweaves concerns about local water shortages, global water scarcity and toilet history with aspirations for grand projects and excellent loos. This compelling documentary promises to put aspirations for Western levels of water provision and sanitation on the map for developing countries. Eritrean refugee Tiba is at the centre of the film. Pontificating from her own bath full of bubbles Tiba considers everything from depleted aquifers to desalination to Ken Livingstone’s plea not to flush. Tiba informs us pit latrines stink, while experts help flush the crap and remind us that water can never run out. Director Ceri Dingle says: “Everyone knows our peers want what we have, yet so many people and outfits tie themselves in absurd knots and stick all sorts of provisos on this obvious fact. Every excuse in the book is used to justify rubbish toilet facilities and small scale schemes which frankly we wouldn’t piss in. It’s so enlightening to hear from experts who recognise all is possible and tell us water is one thing we really shouldn’t have to worry about. This film is befitting of the anniversary of the Great Stink and the Victorians’ grand plans. It suggests that more big thinking is needed, not more bore holes.” Producer Viv Regan adds: “This film has been a treat to work on, from experts on the history of the loo and sanitation to Tiba telling it straight from her bath, to Dr Caspar Hewett setting the record straight by simply pointing out the hydrological cycle means water can never be in short supply. The solutions to water shortages are no mystery, it simply involves demanding more for everyone.”

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