Even before the Civil War, the need for pumps, reservoirs and sewers that served the whole city made it hard to segment public works. There was a democracy of defecation. For all their advantages, the rich could not avoid contamination by the feces of the poor. Polluted water and germs on the hands of their servants penetrated their residences. Like feces and urine, neither fire nor disease respected property boundaries. Water and sewer systems had to cover and protect everyone. Cities were like ships; they sailed, and sank, as a whole.
