The River That Brought the Fish Back

In 1858, the River Thames was so polluted that Parliament hung lime-soaked curtains over their windows just to endure the stench. They called it "The Great Stink." The river that once sustained London had become a sewer — lifeless, toxic, avoided by everyone who could afford to look away. Then, slowly, the work began. Engineers built interceptor sewers. Decade by decade, treatment plants were added.…