More than one-fifth of Russian households do not have access to indoor plumbing. Overall, Russia has the developed world's worst sanitation record.
This came in response to greater awareness of lead poisoning.
The growth of densely populated cities prompted the need for better waste disposal. Underground water and sewage systems eliminated open sewage ditches and cesspools.
Standard earthen plumbing pipes, with broad asphalt flanges for preventing leaks, existed in the urban settlements of present day Pakistan and northwest India.
