Drinking Water: A History
James Salzman
Overlook Press
"In developed countries, we do not think much about drinking water on a daily basis. It is plentiful, safe and easily available," writes James Salzman in his fine new book Drinking Water: A History. We don't think, he says, about the quality or quantity of our H2O. "We simply turn the tap or open a bottle of water.
"Most of us do not know the source … and do not particularly care to know. Water supply is seen as a government or corporate responsibility, not an individual concern."
Yet that lack of concern quickly disappears when we move a few thousand kilometres geographically, or a few dozen years in time. At that point or in that place, drinking water - life's most basic requirement - becomes a very big concern. Consider, for instance, what happened with Olde London's Broad Street pump.
In the 1850s, the pump's well, in Soho, was popular locally for its clear, tasty drinking water. The problem was, that water also carried deadly cholera. In one of many intriguing anecdotes, Salzman, a professor of law and the environment at Duke University, tells of how one John Snow, a London physician, tracked cholera deaths back to the pump, even for consumers who lived in far-off Islington and Hampstead and sent servants or family to fetch the water.
A now-famous "Ghost Map" came out of the report Snow wrote in 1855, showing a cholera cluster one-quarter mile around the pump. Armed with this evidence, the determined doctor persuaded Soho officials to remove the pump handle - in one fell swoop halting the spread of the disease and founding the modern field of epidemiology.
Snow's work, of course, hardly ended waterborne disease. Wells tainted by our forefathers' tendency to dump rubbish near water supplies and failure to prevent street run-off prompted historic epidemics: in 1832 cholera killed 900 people in Philadelphia and 3,500 in New York; yellow fever struck Philadelphia in 1793 and New York in 1795. More mundanely, water polluted with human waste simply made life unpleasant: 1858's "Great Stink of London" caused Parliament to adjourn. And in 1748 New York, a visitor was heard to quip that the water was so bad horses from out of town refused to drink it.
But, equine palates aside, "For most of human history, safe drinking water has been the exception, not the norm," Salzman soberly writes. "The greatest threat to human well-being in the world today is not climate change, Aids, or warfare. Unsafe drinking water is the single largest killer in the world."
Certainly, many over the centuries have laboured to reverse this circumstance. The demand for safe water has been a constant, Salzman writes, but what has evolved is our relationship with water, along with societal conceptions of what threatens health and makes water unsafe. Snow, for example, fought the common belief in his day that disease spread through airborne mists containing poisonous "miasma"; he helped usher in germ theory.
Another example: communal drinking cups at school faucets and water barrels on trains were once the (dangerous) norm. Then, in 1909, the state of Kansas banned this practice and other states followed; the disposable paper Dixie Cup (1907) was born. Other turning points include the first filtration (through sand) of municipal water by Glasgow, Scotland, in 1827, and the realisation (Middelkerke, Belgium in 1902) that adding small amounts of chlorine to water kills microorganisms. A particularly horrific realisation occurred as recently as the 1990s in Bangladesh, where a massive World Health Organization initiative to sink "tubewells" into the aquifer "monstrously transformed into the worst case of mass poisoning in the world", Salzman writes.
It turns out that wells in 59 of 64 of the country's regions contained natural arsenic levels exceeding WHO standards - with 10 per cent of wells containing more than six times that level.
The WHO quickly took action, painting the worst wells red. But rural people - mostly women - continued using them. They knew arsenic's dangers, but apparently preferred slow death by poison to the immediate torture of walking kilometres each day to water sources, balancing heavy jugs or jerry cans on their heads, losing critical time from paying work and schooling, and crippling their bodies.
Drinking water's collision with cultural and economic factors is so poignant, so thought-provoking, readers may wonder why Drinking Water wasn't written years ago. Why do we have piped water in the developed world? One influence was the Romans' engineering feat of moving water long distances via stone aqueducts. The clever Romans also introduced piped water to urban communal lacus, underwriting them by taxing those who piped the water directly to their homes. When did bottled water arrive on the scene? That would be the Middle Ages, when communities around holy wells created distinctive water bottles (ceramic, not plastic) so that pilgrims could take the precious stuff home and guarantee awestruck neighbours that this was the real thing.
New York's debacle in cleaning up its water is another fascinating tale. Following the yellow fever of 1795, the first US Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton persuaded state legislators to privatise, not publicly finance, water. Thus arose the Manhattan Company, whose broad powers to select any land and waters it desired, without obligation to repair streets torn up from pipes, provide water for fires, or open its books, enraged customers.
It wasn't water Assemblyman Aaron Burr (infamous for subsequent acts) cared about: What he wanted was to lead the new company, using its unlimited bank charter, which allowed the institution to devote barely 10 per cent of its $2 million funding toward waterworks. That's how it got away with laying just 23 miles of pipe, using local polluted water, and gouging customers.
"It is true the unpalatableness of this abominable fluid prevents almost every person from using it as a beverage at the table," one man wrote to a local newspaper. Eventually forced out of the water trade, the company landed on its feet as the powerful Chase Manhattan Bank (today JPMorgan Chase). A chastened New York then returned to public funding for water, building the enormous Croton Reservoir project, which now draws from watersheds 200km north of the city and transports 4.5 billion litres a day.
Of course, water over the centuries has been more than business; it's been spiritual, too, from Ponce de León's Fountain of Youth to Saint Bernadette's visions at a Lourdes grotto, to the common religious imagery of a river crossing to the afterlife. A heartening factor along the way: the recognition in both the Quran and the Jewish Talmud that water from natural sources comes from God, making its "sale" a desecration.
In the Quran, this concept is the "Right of Thirst"; the dramatic well scene in Lawrence of Arabia (where one Arab kills another for partaking from his tribe's well) is a British screenwriter's invention, Salzman points out.
The "Right of Thirst" remains relevant to this day: In 2010 the UN General Assembly resolution proclaimed a human right to "safe and clean drinking water", and that concept underlies modern privatisation fights whose description constitutes the book's strongest passages.
One such fight took place in McCloud, California, where citizens beat back a bid by Nestlé Waters North America to bottle 1.97 billion litres of the town's glacier spring water, in the process creating a threat to local ecology and offering the town just one cent per 64 litres (to be sold at retail for $45).
Another water fight: Cochabama, Bolivia, where citizens violently protested the private consortium their government had contracted to manage water and wastewater services.
The government's cancellation of Cochabama's contract sent locals back to buying water from vendors - which was not necessarily a good thing. Water "is a gift from God", a privatisation opponent in Argentina once told the president of Veolia Environment, which supplies water to 100 million people worldwide. "Yes," the executive dryly replied, "but He forgot to lay the pipes."
Regardless of the economic questions involved, the human right to safe water remains major news. It can be seen in a legal ruling in India (where 17 per cent of people have no access to clean water) that forced municipalities there to improve water quality. It's present in Zambia, where a marketing campaign for a product called PUR (a sachet that purifies water) was a resounding success - because people put more stock in something they have to buy.
The right to clean water also reverberates in a US non-profit that raises millions to build wells in the developing world. It's there in new water treatment technologies, such as desalinisation (a major focus in the Middle East), large-scale distillation, the "LifeStraw" (for individual water purification), and even plans to mine water from asteroids.
The Wall Street Journal has said that water is the "21st century's equivalent of oil". And that sounds right. Foiled by the citizens of McCloud, Nestlé is working to open three other regional locations, to take what Mother Nature created from hydrogen and oxygen, then sell it in plastic bottles to willing buyers.
Joan Oleck is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn, New York.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 720hp
Torque: 770Nm
Price: Dh1,100,000
On sale: now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
