The first environmental engineer is said to have been Joseph Bazalgette. According to an article, Bazalgette oversaw the construction of the first large-scale municipal sanitary sewer system in London in the mid-19th century. This was prompted by a series of cholera epidemics, as well as a persistent unbearable stench, that were attributed to the discharge of raw sewage into the Thames which was also the main source of drinking water for the city. This "great stink" which was so noxious that it caused Parliament to evacuate Westminster, gave then-Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli grounds to ask for 3.5 million pounds to improve the city's sewage disposal system.
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