In the mid-19th century, the Soho district of London had a serious problem with filth due to the large influx of people and a lack of proper sanitary services: the London sewer system had not reached Soho. Cowsheds, slaughter houses, and grease-boiling dens lined the streets and contributed animal droppings, rotting fluids and other contaminants to the primitive Soho sewer system.[3] Many cellars had cesspools underneath their floorboards, which formed from the sewers and filth seeping in from the outside.[3] Since the cesspools were overrunning, the London government decided to dump the waste into the River Thames, contaminating the water supply.[4] London had already suffered from a "series of debilitating cholera outbreaks".[5] These included outbreaks in 1832 and 1849 which killed a total of 14,137 people.[5]