Sewer Origins

The city of Charleston began digging its first sewer system in the Fall of 1894, and the first operational pipes were laid in some of the old walled city. This very simple system involved running pipes at angles underground so that sewerage would flow to certain holding tanks, which would then be lifted beneath the surface by pneumatic pumps into a discharge pipe that would carry it to the surrounding rivers through charcoal-imbedded
filters meant to clean the refuse.
The original “lifting station” opened in the Spring of 1895 was located at the corner of Church and Water streets, where this massive iron manhole plate still stands. It was excavated down to 15 feet below the surface for collection of sewer, which is remarkable considering Water Street is former Vanderhorst Creek.
The project was begun during the administration of mayor John F. Ficken, and succeeding mayors J. Adger Smyth, Robert Goodwyn Rhett, and John P. Grace, the pipes expanded throughout the city, and citizens were encouraged to pay the fee to tap into the new system. Until the early 20th century, Charleston had thousands of outdoor privy houses downtown that spread disease and stench, and the modern flush toilets offered a giant leap into the modern era by discharging into pipes that could move sewer elsewhere.
Of course, this didn’t completely solve the pollution problem, as waste water was dumped indirectly into the Ashley and Cooper rivers until 1971, when the Plum Island waste treatment plant went into operation under Mayor J. Palmer Gaillard, and has since been affectionately known as “Gaillard’s Folly” or Charleston’s “johnny on the spot.”