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The Lindleys laid the foundations of modern water supply and sewage system for many European cities, including Łódź. The system constructed in Łódź is based on a design created at the beginning of the 20th century and is still functional thus being one of the most splendid elements of the cultural legacy of our city. By the end of the 19th century, there had already been waterworks and sewerage systems in the majority of Polish cities. However, no proper water supply and sewage disposal facilities existed in the majority of small towns and in Łódź, which was one of the biggest cities of Europe at that time. The political situation of the country, frequently changing governing bodies of the city, financial difficulties, high density and unplanned development, together with constant changes in design and technological guidelines hindered the implementation of water supply and sewage disposal solutions. Only in 1901, when the sanitary situation of the city became disastrous, did Władysław Pieńkowski, who was the then president of Łódź, commission William Heerlein Lindley to design water and sewerage system. In order to put the project into execution it was necessary to survey and chart the area of the city. For this purpose the Lindley’s office was set up in Łódź in 1902 and Leszek Gembarzewski, who was the deputy engineer of the province, was appointed as local person in charge of the office. The process of preparing the sectional plans at a scale of 1:2 500 began without delay. The 54 sheet map made in 1897 at a scale of 1:1 680 by Władysław Starzyński served as the basis for the mentioned plans. Regrettably, this map did not include altitude profile of the urban areas. The next phase of the cartographical work was therefore to create the altitude map of the area of Łódź and surroundings at a scale of 1:10 000. The altitude map was then used for making longitudinal profiles which were necessary for designing a network of water and sewage pipelines, the sewage treatment plant in Lublinek and the clean water reservoirs in Budy Stokowskie. Before designing of the city waterworks commenced, the surveying work on water delivery routes, as marked out by Lindley, was carried out resulting in creation of a plan at a scale of 1:126 000. The plan shows three options of supplying water to Łódź: from wells near Tomaszów Mazowiecki, from the Pilica River in the vicinity of Sulejów and from drilled wells located in the Łódź area. William H. Lindley suggested drawing water from the drilled wells located in the Tomaszów Mazowiecki area as the optimal solution. The preparatory work lasted for 8 years. In 1909 William H. Lindley finally submitted to the Łódź municipality the complete design for the water supply and sewage disposal system. The final version of the reports have been published in 150 copies in two languages - German and Russian. The copy purchased by Łódź University Library consists of the following documents: initial description – manuscript copies, explanatory texts – printed, plans and profiles. The titles of both independent parts are as follows: Vodosnabženie g. Lodzi, Vodostoki g. Lodzi. The whole set was placed in an elegant authentic period cardboard case which has a red velvet covering and a brass lock. |
