The Great Stink forces Parliament to pass the London sewage bill

Background. By 1856 London had around 200,000 cesspits and 360 sewers, with over a hundred sewers constructed in the preceding century. Rising population, flushing toilets and industrial outflow strained the failing system, and much of the effluent overflowed or discharged directly into the Thames. Michael Faraday had described the river's opacity in 1855, Charles Dickens called it a deadly sewer, and three cholera outbreaks were blamed on its condition.

The Great Stink. The Great Stink occurred in Central London during July and August 1858, when hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent on the banks of the Thames. June temperatures in the shade had averaged 34–36 °C, rising to 48 °C in the sun. In 1857 the government had already poured chalk lime, chloride of lime and carbolic acid into the river to ease the stench, but the problem persisted.

Legislative Response. After the Great Stink, Parliament recognised the urgency of the problem and resolved to create a modern sewerage system. On 15 June 1858 Disraeli tabled the Metropolis Local Management Amendment Bill, a proposed amendment to the 1855 Act, calling the Thames a Stygian pool reeking with ineffable and intolerable horrors. In 1858 Parliament passed an Enabling Act despite the colossal expense, and the terms favoured Bazalgette's original 1856 plan, overcoming Hall's objection to it.