From the dawn of history, as the human population has continuously increased, so have the water and wastewater disposal requirements. Water management was not a serious problem as long as the population numbers were low and concentrations of the people were not high. As populations started to increase dramatically during post-1950, and the rate of urbanisation began to accelerate, provision of clean water and safe disposal of wastewater and stormwater for the megacities of developing countries became increasingly more complex and serious.
By Asit K. Biswas and Cecilia Tortajada, 2004. Article published in World Water.