I’m not sure about that, but I can tell you that the UK has been regressing in: healthcare, policing, education, road infrastructure, rail infrastructure, immigration control and social care for the last 10-15 years amongst other things. The median disposable salary has also been decreasing.
It's kind of the opposite. The cesspits that predated the sewer system were relatively friendlier to waterways. See this article on how changing to pipes caused the great Dutch stink: