Author Description

This book is an examination of the problem of sanitation in Chicago by an economic historian. It focuses on the economic and technological decisions affecting the utilization and conservation of Lake Michigan, the city's principal water resource. Cities located on freshwater lakes, such as Chicago, typically have drawn their water supply and discharged their wastes into the lake. Water pollution and a high incidence of water-borne disease are the predictable results of this approach. Thus, lakefront cities have been forced to invest in water and/or sewage treatment works to improve conditions for their citizenry.