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How could an Urbexer go about obtaining city storm drain layouts? I can't seem to find any online.
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” - Stephen Crane |
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This has been covered a few times here and there.
You won't find a comprehensive answer because there isn't one. Every place stores their records differently, even city to city.
Some cities have them available on their utilities websites, though they are few and far between. Mostly you have to dig around online.
Check the news surrounding past and present projects and you can often find the name of a contractor that actually did the construction work or a project they are working on. Sometimes their websites have maps incorporated into slideshows and .pdf files that you can piece together. It is not easy work and if you want to find useful information, you will have to dig deeper than the average internet user.
A third option is to do some good 'ol fashioned recon. You can sometimes ask for atlases or maps in person. You will likely have to use some guise. A favorite of mine is to pose as a student for a nearby university (it helps if you actually have a university email address and id) and say you need the maps for an environmental project. This is by far the most time consuming, but you will get what you want.
Honestly, if you are just looking for large pipes and cool underground structures to explore you can generally just trace trace them from the outfalls/treatment facility if you have a decent understanding of how modern sewage systems work.
"It's nothing, only the smellz." |
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Thanks for the advice! This is really helpful
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” - Stephen Crane |
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Posted by wranglerroadhead
...Honestly, if you are just looking for large pipes and cool underground structures to explore you can generally just trace trace them from the outfalls/treatment facility if you have a decent understanding of how modern sewage systems work.
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My city does have a map on-line. It isn't very helpful. As wranglerroadhead said, starting at the outflow is the way to go.
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It also helps to study older city maps to find where waterways have been covered up, or just fool around on Google Earth.
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I find that it's fun to map them out myself. Kind of like a modern day cartographer. But instead of exploring new frontiers and unclaimed territory, you're trekking through tubes of runoff and shit.
Documenting the Dilapidated
https://www.facebo...tingTheDilapidated |
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Posted by vokapolis
you're trekking through tubes
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"See you guys, you never listen to me. I said there was gonna be trouble but you didn't listen to me. You guys are crazy. You know, you guys are self destructive. There's a funny farm and it has your names written all over it. But I'm gettin' out of here. I'm... I smell ice cream!" |
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You rookie.
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Posted by Keaven
My city does have a map on-line. It isn't very helpful. As wranglerroadhead said, starting at the outflow is the way to go.
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It usually goes down grade ultimately to a water way of some sort. Find the end is sound advice.
Small underground streams are something found under cities and towns by finding the inflow, above ground sections, or the outflow. These streams may be relatively small about 3-15 feet across, but still have a large tunnel to support water high volumes. These will always come out at a lower elevation. Topographic maps can help to determine likely locations. Goggle earth can be helpful to pin point the outflows.
Outflows generally are down stream of nearby water treatment plant intakes.
If it's going to rain, don't drain.
Be wary of snow melt offs as well...
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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it really depends on the municipality in which you live - my city used to have much of it's maps online (if you knew where to look) but has since pulled much of it down and/or shifted it to a private university network for civil engineering students to access via their GIS system.
That being said, it's not unheard of for them to be obtained through municipal public works departments. While they're technically in the public domain it usually helps if you've got a quasi believable cover story for why you need them.
As others have mentioned though, more often than not the best and most rewarding way of finding them is through a combo of google maps and physical exploration. Follow major streams / rivers and you'll usually find an outfall or two. Turn off "satellite" view in google maps and it becomes a lot easier to see where rivers miraculously start / stop, which means they're going above or below ground for any number of reasons.
In my experience, searching for stuff is half the fun and it becomes alarmingly mundane when you've got everything figured out. Do yourself a favor and don't try tooo hard to find the maps ;D
www.tohellandback.net |
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yeah this subject verys by city for sure. but if your using google try key words like "sewer atlas" or "storm sewer/drain outfalls" etc. you probably wont be able to find a comprehensive map of systems online with ease but you can usually at least find the outfalls and then go from there. happy hunting's!
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Ethics
