> It was the common way to sanitize water That’s mostly a myth. > as the river was the source of clean water Also mostly a myth. e.g. they weren’t drinking w

> It was the common way to sanitize water That’s mostly a myth. > as the river was the source of clean water Also mostly a myth. e.g. they weren’t drinking water from the Thames in medieval London for instance but from the Tyburn river. The case in most cities was that you had stream and springs which were legally protected and you poured your waste downstream into some major river. Obviously shit happened and water sources got polluted from time to time with terrible consequences but they still drank water all the time.