Richard Corliss, author of over 55 books and consultant to Time-life Books and the General Electric Company, wrote of the incorruptibility of the Ganges. According to Corliss, twenty-seven major towns dump 902 million litres of sewage into the Ganges each day. Yet Ganges water does not putrefy, even after long periods of storage. River water begins to putrefy when lack of oxygen promotes the growth of anaerobic bacteria, which produce the telltale smell of stale water. British physician C.E. Nelson observed that Ganges water taken from the Hooghly – one of its dirtiest mouths – by ships returning to England, remained fresh throughout the voyage.