When modern industrialization started in the 19th century, many people migrated from the agricultural area to the big cities. Public hygiene became a major problem. Human excrement and waste was discharged into open channels, rivers, and lakes. The pollution was disastrous and hygiene-related epidemic diseases, like cholera and typhus, occurred frequently. Therefore, it was an important step forward when public water collection systems and treatment plants were introduced at the end of the 19th century.