Historical Overview on Environmental Engineering

NAME: ROTICH KIPRONO

REG NO: CSE/25/14

SCHOOL: ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT: CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL

COURSE: INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HEALTH

ENGINEERING

COURSE CODE: CVS 435

LECTURER: MR. NG’ETICH

TASK: ASSIGNMENT

DATE: 5/10/2018

SIGNATURE: ___________

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Historical Overview on Environmental Engineering

Question;

Write an overview on historical developments in Environmental/ Public Health Engineering.

INTRODUCTION

Human life has over the ages evolved, this has led to various artists coming up with different

theories to suggest how this came into being such as Charles Darwin evolution. As evolution

keeps progressing, human life discover more and more things affecting their daily life. This can

be seen from as early as Stone Age where human species used sharp stones as spear tips to help

in their hunting. For many years infections, illnesses and disease outbreaks where seen as just

somethings they could not be controlled. The earliest medical systems based their explanations

of diseases on mystical and religious affiliations. There was no cure instead there were on ways

of evading diseases by certain dietary restrictions and religious behaviors.

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES.

i. Earliest Know Indications of Environmental Engineering

The earliest well defined advice about health was by the Chinese Physicians under Chou

Dynasty(1122-250 BCE) who advocated for preservation of health by a mixture of dietary

restrictions, temperance and physical and spiritual exercises. The Egyptians also believed in

almost the same from, believed that illness was as result imbalance between the temporal and

spiritual existence. To cure this processes used were mostly superstitious, like magic and rituals.

It is also in Egypt where archeological excavations have come across evidence indicating what

could be the oldest piping system of all time. These cities of 1400 BCE shows signs of planned

structural developments which had a sophisticated stone masonry drainage systems. Other ruins

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that have shown evidence of water supply systems is in India, where structures estimated to be as

old as 4000 years in Indus Valley had bathrooms and drains with broad paved streets with

covered sewers.

As evolution continued, codes were developed to act as regulatory hygiene customs, as in in the

days of Mesopotamia. In addition to this Hebrew –rabbi physicians stipulated disease prevention

measure based on their belief that some diseases were communicable through food, bodily

discharge, clothing and WATER and air. The Hebrews and Babylonians also believed that

plagues were spread through contaminated water. They also had codes dictating where wells

could not be dug like near cemeteries and near dumpsites. The most interesting noted point was

part of their codes involved drinking water must be boiled with food being required to be fresh

clean and healthy.

ii. Then Greek Philosophers

Commonly referred to as Hellenistic Era, existed between the 7TH and 5TH centuries. This began

by philosophies shading light on temporal and divine cause of diseases in ancient Greece. In this

era, mysticism was well practiced until the rise of the Greek philosopher, Hippocrates (460-360

BCE). It was under his scholastic period that the Hippocratic tradition was developed in which

was derived from Hippocratic Corpus. The Hippocratic Corpus was a piece by many

philosophers who shifted from the old tradition and mystic methods of healing. This new

tradition focused more on the patient rather than the disease with prevention being key.

Healing methods and medicines were now based on methods developed from empirical

observations.

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The Hippocratic tradition outlined that health was affected by the seasons and quality of the

environment. On airs water and places was a Hippocratic text analyzed environmental

determinants of health and divided disease. The text went ahead to dictate that before colonizing

and construction works, a place should be checked by a skilled physician. It also discouraged

building of riparian land. Though their healing techniques were practicable, they were costly but,

acted as the foundation for the current medicinal systems in place

iii. The Roman Conquest and Contribution

When Romans conquered Greece, they marked a new era in development. Alexandra the Great

conquests lead to widespread adoption of the Hellenistic traditions in North Africa, parts of

Europe and Middle East, before being adopted by the Romans. The romans adopted this tradition

and added their own touch. What Romans stood out from the Greeks was their experienced

engineering and administrative capabilities. They were great builders of complex sewerage

systems and baths, providers of health facilities and water supply. Most notable was the

aqueducts built in the 2ND century BCE, which supplied fresh water to the city of Rome. This

was spread out to reach all the city colonies of Rome. Their sanitation reforms saw the provision

of Public Health Services such as pubic baths drainage systems, piped water and sewage system.

This was under the imperial state.

Major contribution of this era was during the 1ST century where Romans when a link between

diseases and microorganisms in swamps and marshes was developed. Marcus Terentius Daro

acknowledged presence of ‘minute creatures’ which cause ‘serious disease’.

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iv. The Medieval Era

The fall of the great Roman Empire marked an end to the health reforms and the public facilities

built by the romans in most of the cities. This saw the beginning of the Middle Ages (500-1500

AD) this was the era that saw the world, especially Europe face major health disasters such as

bubonic plague and the plague of Justinian. Alongside tis thee were also epidemic infectious

diseases which caused communities become more self-conscious which led to formation of

health and public health departments in the 1800s in a bid to better public health. The fall of the

Roman Empire created a void for a centralized governance. The Christian church took over this

position in most regions of Europe, overseeing public health administration. This church

administration up on the spread of Church to the Roman Empire, cultural preoccupation shifted

focus from the rich and started looking on effect of diseases on the general public. At the same

time the church with no clear code to dictate public health started dependence on municipal

initiatives.

Agricultural revolution and increased trade with the Middle East led to the urbanization of

Europe. With reliance on few fortification on cities, most of the suffered from overcrowding

which made conditions favorable for diseases and pestilence. This posed another challenge to

disease prevention and healing. The bubonic plague wiped a major population of Europe, as

public health administrations worked on quarantine measures to stop the spread of the disease.

This measure was first implemented in the port of Venice Italy.

v. Industrialization Era

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Urbanization that had started in the medieval times peaked in the 1800’s which was partly

influenced by the widespread industrialization. Population in cities multiplied very fast, England

for example had its population double to 2 million residents in a short span (1800-1840). This

overcrowding, poor planning, filth and poor working conditions saw increase in outbreak of

disease. Across in the American continent, an influx in immigrants saw living conditions decline

(1840’s-1850).

The first publication on public health was by Edwin Chadwick, titled “General Report on

Sanitary Condition of the Laboring Population of Great Britain” published in 1842. In it

Chadwick attributed the high prevalence of diseases among the poor to their poor sanitary

conditions. As chief administrator he championed reforms that became widely adopted in Great

Britain and the United State. Part of this was 1848 Public Health act that was in existence for

only 5 years which created a general board of health that would establish local boards of health

and appoint an officer of health. The years that ensued saw the focus of public health be

improvement of sanitary conditions. These early reforms became the foundation for Public

Health reforms in both the United States and the Great Britain.

vi. Microbiology and Bacteriology Phase

Advancements in industrializations saw a new age in Public Health which started late in the

1800’s and went all the way to the 1900’s. Discoveries by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch

changed how public Health was addressed. Pasteur considered a possibility between germs and

diseases while Koch basing on this discovered disease causing bacteria.

Across in America, cities built aqueducts to supply good quality water. Along with these

aqueducts drainage and sewerage systems were developed which drained into rivers, this task

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was mainly undertaken by army engineers. As demand for waters increased the quality of water

in use became a major concern leading to the analysis of water qualities. This was followed by

establishment of first Sanitary Chemistry laboratories. The years that followed saw

establishments of experiment Stations like the Lawrence Experiment Station that oversaw

sanitary engineering. This center was staffed with experts from Engineering, Chemistry, and

Biology. Part of this staff was the MIT Professor WM. Sedgwick a biologist who basing on

Robert Koch’s discoveries on bacterial techniques developed waste water treatment by 1900.

MIT then became a pioneer on Sanitary Engineering.

vii. The 20TH Century.

This widespread information in knowledge of public health engineering saw public health force

gain skills in understanding the relationship between the environment, community’s health and

bacteria and infectious diseases. Over the next several years gains made concerned with public

health as more attention was paid on improved sanitation, water purity, nutrition, control of

infectious diseases and also immunization.

A series of environmental engineering conferences held in between 1960’s and 1980’s became

common. The first was in Harvard University to educate people on this new discipline in

engineering by 1973, the name was changed from Sanitary Engineering to Environmental

Engineering. Changing of the name was attributed to increase in scope of study and also need for

it to be recognized in undergraduate engineering.

Previously civil engineers were responsible for construction of sewers and public water works

which was important in improving sanitation and hygiene, hence the name sanitary engineering

and today is more commonly known as water quality engineering. The industrialization process

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attracted a lot of attention as other forms of pollution became an issue such as the air pollution

leading to mechanical and chemical engineers joining the drive for better sanitation.

There was an increase in students taking environmental engineering between 1971 and 1977. It

was during the end of the 20th century that this kind of engineering spread out to various regions

of the world.

Kenya and Environmental Engineering

In Kenya there has been little note in this environmental engineering being offered as part of

other undergraduate degree programs, like water and environmental engineering or soil, water

and environmental engineering. It is also one of the unit’s taught in civil engineering.

CONCLUSION

As technology and population increases more and more focus is given to environmental

engineering as water becomes more and more of a scarce resource. Ways are being invented

daily to purify water. As much the devolved administration has been taken into effect in Kenya

concerning public health. There needs to be widespread information to increase the reception of

environmental engineering. More focus should be given to this very important course and even

be offered as its own undergraduate degree program. Also existing administrations should be

enforced and strengthened as there has been a lot of neglect outside major cities and towns. Case

in point is here in Moi University, there are rentals draining water into roadsides. This has led to

filth in some sections of the famed ‘Stage’. Public health should take measures to prevent

impending health disaster. There is need for well-connected drainage structures.

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References
Buesche, C. A. (2018, October 1). History of Environmental Engineering. Retrieved from

Washington University in St. Louis:

https://eece.wustl.edu/eeceatwashu/about/Pages/environmental-engineering-history.aspx

J.Pudlowski, D. Q. (2007). The Transformation and Evolution of Undergraduate Enviromental

Engineering Education from Its Early Inception to Present Status . Global Journal of

Engineering Education ,P 143-150.

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