Tom and Sandra take a sip of cool, clear water and contemplate how we got to a point where we can just turn a handle and get clean, safe water. It was a long and somewhat dangerous journey from drinking out of a river (and relieving ourselves in it) to digging wells and learning to clean and sanitize the water we need to live. From ancient wells in China to underground channels dug in the middle east thousands of years ago, to flush toilets and stone water filters in Central America developed by the Maya and the contemplation of using beach sand by Francis Bacon, Part 1 spans about three thousand years of water treatment.