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Eugène Belgrand
Born 1810
Died 1878
Nationality French
Occupation Civil Engineer

Eugène Belgrand (1810–1878) was a French engineer who made significant contributions to the modernization of the Parisian sewer system during the 19th century rebuilding of Paris. Much of Belgrand's work remains in use today.[1]

Contents

Civil engineering

Prior to 1850, the water system in Paris was inadequate for its growing population. Waste water was discharged into the Seine, a primary source of the critically limited supply of drinking water.[2] Baron Haussmann, tasked by Napoléon III to modernize the city, appointed Belgrand as Director of Water and Sewers of Paris in March 1855.[3] Hausmann had been impressed by the École Polytechnique graduate's application of geology to water engineering during the design of a fountain in Avallon.

Belgrand embarked on an ambitious project. The tunnels he designed were intended to be clean, easily accessible, and substantially larger than the previous Parisian underground.[4] Under his guidance, Paris's sewer system expanded fourfold between 1852 and 1869.[5] He also addressed the city's fresh water needs, constructing a system of aqueducts that nearly doubled the amount of water available per person per day and quadrupled the number of homes with running water.[6]

Public reaction to the improvements was overwhelmingly favorable, supported by tours of the newly-constructed sewer system and a series of photographs taken by Nadar,[7] pioneering the use of artificial lighting for photography.[8] Belgrand shared his insights with others, writing "monumental publications"[9] detailing his work and the science behind it.[10]

Belgrand's projects remain "one of the most extensive urban sewer systems in the world"[1] and served as a "transitional phase" leading to modern wastewater processing.[11]

Commemoration

To commemorate his work in Parisian civil engineering, Belgrand's name is one of 72 names engraved on the Eiffel Tower, opposite the École Militaire.[12] The main gallery of the Paris Sewer Museum[13] is also named in his honor, as is a street in Paris.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Riding, Alan (1992-07-12). "The Sights Beneath the Sidewalks". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9E0CE7DD1738F931A25754C0A964958260. Retrieved 2008-01-09.  
  2. ^ "Hausmann". France Monthly. Dec 2002. http://www.francemonthly.com/n/1202/index.php#article5. Retrieved 2008-01-08.  
  3. ^ Goodman, David C. (1999). The European Cities and Technology Reader: Industrial to Post-industrial City. Routledge. ISBN 0415200792.  
  4. ^ Goldman, Joanne Abel (1997). Building New York's Sewers: Developing Mechanisms of Urban Management. Purdue University Press. ISBN 1557530955.  
  5. ^ Perrot, Michelle (1990). A History of Private Life. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674400038.  
  6. ^ Pitt, Leonard (2006). Walks Through Lost Paris: A Journey Into the Hear of Historic Paris. Shoemaker & Hoard Publishers. ISBN 1593761031.  
  7. ^ Krupa, Frederique. "Sewerage from 1789-1900". Paris: Urban Sanitation Before the 20th Century. http://www.translucency.com/frede/parisproject/sewer1789_1900.html. Retrieved 2008-01-08.  
  8. ^ Bossy, Michel-André, Thomas Brothers, et al. (2001). Artists, Writers, and Musicians: An Encyclopedia of People Who Changed the World. Oryx Press. ISBN 1573561541.  
  9. ^ Saalman, Howard (1971). Haussmann: Paris Transformed. George Braziller. ISBN 0807605837.  
  10. ^ Meinzer, Oscar E., ed. (1949). Hydrology. Dover Publications.  
  11. ^ Gandy, Matthew (1999). "The Paris sewers and the rationalization of urban space". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 24 (1): 23–44. doi:10.1111/j.0020-2754.1999.00023.x.  
  12. ^ "The 72 scientists". http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/dossiers/page/savants.html. Retrieved 2008-01-09.  
  13. ^ Kahn, Laura H. (2007-10-18). "The sewer: Guardian against disease". The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/laura-h-kahn/the-sewer-guardian-against-disease. Retrieved 2009-03-19.  
  14. ^ Higonnet, Patrice (2002). Paris: Capital of the World. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674008871.  

Related

rue Belgrand, Paris








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