To the east of the town, a faint echo of rushing water could be heard coming from the ravine. With his hands behind his back, Ethan stood looking out over the natural stream that meandered through the untamed vegetation. Clean, flowing water all year round was one of the few blessings the land had bestowed upon him. However, it was mishandled and underutilized in its current state.
"They just use buckets to draw from it?" Ethan looked at Lina, the young girl who was now his unofficial assistant, and asked.
Yes, Milord. Barrels for bathing, buckets for drinking. They occasionally do their laundry there as well.
Ethan winced. "So the same water they drink from..."
Yes.
Unacceptable. He had studied urban infrastructure with almost religious fervor in his previous life. Any functional settlement was built on a foundation of waste management, sanitation, and water. They were afterthoughts here.
He gathered the villagers back in the town square. They now viewed him as a strange sort of hope rather than a stranger.
We'll construct a suitable water system," he declared. "We'll start with the ravine's wooden aqueducts. We'll channel clean water straight into the town center while supporting them with stone or wood.
There was a murmur. They had only heard tales about aqueducts. One of the older men said,
"What about the waste, milord?"
Ethan gave a nod. "That comes next. We'll begin excavating waste pits for composting and building public restrooms away from the water supply. We'll eventually install subterranean waste channels, but that will take more stone and work than we currently have. Separation is crucial for the time being. Water that is clean stays that way. Waste is controlled and kept away from residences.
Using a stick, he began drawing in the dirt, including trench plans, clay piping techniques he recalled, and even sand and gravel water filtration. The villagers looked on in wonder.
Later that night, as he was sleeping in the manor, Lina returned to him with a wooden board that was covered in his sketches. "Milord, they began digging today. claimed that having a purpose was a blessing.
Ethan gave a small smile. He studied the aqueduct path plan and the rough town map. "This is only the start. A city cannot exist without water. However, we can create something durable if we do this correctly and make it safe, effective, and clean.
The smell of freshly turned earth filled the night wind outside.
And for the first time since coming here, Ethan thought that the foundations of a better world, not just buildings, were starting to take shape.