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UER Forum > Rookie Forum > How does one find drains? (Viewed 3032 times)
Wowee 


Location: Littleton, CO
Total Likes: 72 likes


haha funny hammer

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How does one find drains?
< on 5/17/2022 2:43 AM >
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I am new to this site, and am curious as to how to find drains to explore.

Is it OK if someone could clarify to me how one would do this action?




I will stop procrastinating tomorrow...
Urban Downfall 


Location: Montréal - Qc
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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 1 on 5/17/2022 9:23 AM >
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Check weather, don't go if it rains.

Lift manholes, go down.

Be in drain, explore.




Il y a toujours un moyen.
Doug 


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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 2 on 5/17/2022 10:25 AM >
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Posted by Wowee
I am new to this site, and am curious as to how to find drains to explore.

Is it OK if someone could clarify to me how one would do this action?


You'll need an account...

https://www.uega.n...ewtopic.php?t=5612




The Urbex Zine Guy
https://www.cavecl...wtopic.php?t=12259
Steed 


Location: Edmonton/Seoul
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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 3 on 5/17/2022 1:09 PM >
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I would recommend walking along waterways and river/stream parks and looking for places where underground rivers emerge, especially at ends and under bridges. Online maps and street view can save some of the physical labour. May be less effective in other countries.



[last edit 5/17/2022 1:10 PM by Steed - edited 1 times]

Wowee 


Location: Littleton, CO
Total Likes: 72 likes


haha funny hammer

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 4 on 5/17/2022 1:30 PM >
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Thank you so much. I will make sure to try this out!




I will stop procrastinating tomorrow...
Random 


Location: Richmond, Virginia
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Partially Retired

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 5 on 2/20/2023 1:29 AM >
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Comparing old maps showing streams above ground with current maps will often reveal where a creek has been routed underground. Also, use Google’s satellite images to scan around the edges of areas with large concentrations of buildings and parking lots. All that rain water landing on impermeable ground has to go somewhere, right?

Also, popping manhole covers is what got my crew detained by police on several occasions. I don’t mind it as a quick exit strategy but never would use it for entrance again.




Aran 


Location: Kansas City
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Huh. I guess covid made me a trendsetter.

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 6 on 2/20/2023 3:57 AM >
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All that water has to go somewhere, so I find it easiest to look for outfalls and work backwards from there. Trawl Google Maps for drainage ponds, lakeshores, and riverbanks and see if you can spot the outfall from there. Then, if your city has GIS maps of the storm drain system publicly available (many cities do), you can just find the outfall on the GIS maps and work backwards to find manholes and junction rooms.



[last edit 2/20/2023 3:58 AM by Aran - edited 1 times]

"Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.

MrBungle 


Location: MSP
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Hey there Mr. Krinkle, how are you today?

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 7 on 2/27/2023 4:19 PM >
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Pretty sure this goes without saying, but if your in a colder area with snow. Don't chance it if it's all melting. There's drowning in a drain, then there's drowning in a drain with hypothermia.




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Dofflin 


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Having a swimmingly good time

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 8 on 2/27/2023 6:57 PM >
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Everyone here has great advice: look for outfalls along bodies of water (39.610120, -105.023541 this might be walkable just from a quick peek), pop manholes (cat claws are easily concealable), and look at GIS maps (the city sometimes has sewer maps).

Also just reemphasizing some important points. DON'T DRAIN WHEN IT RAINS! Urbexing the inside of a bodybag is pretty lame and the pictures are boring. Speaking of, taking pictures of drains and posting them here so I can ogle them is very appreciated. Bring at least 3 real sources of light (phone lights don't count). And last but not least, keep an eye out for CHUDs. Happy draining and good luck!




Floodway 


Location: Colorado Springs
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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 9 on 2/27/2023 7:36 PM >
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Everyone else here has posted some stellar advice, but I will add a bit!

Bike paths are your friend. Often these run near bodies of water or canals that have explorable outfalls. I've probably found more drains by keeping my eyes peeled while biking than any other time. I don't see a lot of folks mention this but it's been the single biggest way I've found spots to explore! Plus, a bike is small enough to take into the drain with you, should you be impatient like me and not want to walk back to the spot later.

In the same vein, keep a good lookout when driving! Sometimes there are massive canals and drain openings that just get overlooked, especially in areas where a lot of overpasses exist, in my experience.

As others have mentioned, google maps is your friend! Arc GIS maps are even better.

As for some general draining advice– always mind the weather, as others have said. Always have backup batteries for your lights! And I highly recommend a waterproof case for your phone if it's coming with you, that's saved my ass on several occasions. I recommend bringing water, especially if you're doing a lot of crouching, you can get dehydrated pretty fast. And always pay attention to where you're going... "slides" can be pretty dangerous and if you slip down one that you can't climb back up, you're going to have to find a different way out of that drain system. And sometimes they have very deep water right at the base...




There's more to life than what you see on the surface...
Wowee 


Location: Littleton, CO
Total Likes: 72 likes


haha funny hammer

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 10 on 3/1/2023 4:49 PM >
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Thank you for everyone that has responded . So far, the tool I have used for opening a manhole is the head of a pick mattock. It is amazing for opening drains because you can just put the pick section between the cover and ring and add slight pressure with your foot to pop it right open!

So far I have been in some pretty nice drains !




I will stop procrastinating tomorrow...
Steed 


Location: Edmonton/Seoul
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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 11 on 3/1/2023 6:04 PM >
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Posted by Wowee
So far, the tool I have used for opening a manhole is the head of a pick mattock. It is amazing for opening drains because you can just put the pick section between the cover and ring and add slight pressure with your foot to pop it right open!



I'm sort of curious to see how that works. I can't imagine the leverage being that advantageous.




Wowee 


Location: Littleton, CO
Total Likes: 72 likes


haha funny hammer

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 12 on 3/3/2023 6:51 AM >
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Posted by Steed


I'm sort of curious to see how that works. I can't imagine the leverage being that advantageous.


Here is a video of my method of opening a manhole.
Sorry about the poor filming angle, was trying to video it as quickly as possible to avoid being seen.




I will stop procrastinating tomorrow...
Steed 


Location: Edmonton/Seoul
Gender: Male
Total Likes: 2650 likes


Your Friendly Neighbourhood Race Traitor

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 13 on 3/3/2023 7:05 AM >
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Posted by Wowee


Here is a video of my method of opening a manhole.
Sorry about the poor filming angle, was trying to video it as quickly as possible to avoid being seen.



Thanks, that makes sense now, good job.

Some of the manhole covers I see have holes like that, while many others have different things, or nothing at all.

By the way, when looking for images of manhole covers in Korea, I came across this alarming article. New way to go draining!




Wowee 


Location: Littleton, CO
Total Likes: 72 likes


haha funny hammer

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 14 on 3/3/2023 3:08 PM >
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Something I figured out a while ago is that it is much harder to open a manhole from the bottom using the tool...




I will stop procrastinating tomorrow...
Doug 


Gender: Male
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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 15 on 3/3/2023 8:53 PM >
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Posted by Wowee


Here is a video of my method of opening a manhole.
Sorry about the poor filming angle, was trying to video it as quickly as possible to avoid being seen.



Then there's this...





The Urbex Zine Guy
https://www.cavecl...wtopic.php?t=12259
TaRaShRat 


Location: Pacific northwest - Washington State
Total Likes: 13 likes


Ham op - covert entry specialist - climb/rap cert'd

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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 16 on 4/24/2023 7:59 PM >
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Posted by Aran
All that water has to go somewhere, so I find it easiest to look for outfalls and work backwards from there. Trawl Google Maps for drainage ponds, lakeshores, and riverbanks and see if you can spot the outfall from there. Then, if your city has GIS maps of the storm drain system publicly available (many cities do), you can just find the outfall on the GIS maps and work backwards to find manholes and junction rooms.


I can't stress this enough. A lot of cities/counties GIS Data is public, and you can, at least in King County, Washington find a map overlay with every manhole location, along with the storm drains, CSO outflows, and processing facilities. If you spend a couple hours digging through really crunchy websites and in some cases have the right software, you can get somewhere! I'm working on a fairly complicated map for some of my PNW buddies right now, but check out a service called ARCGIS. A good portion of public utilities host their maps through it, and just the storm-water utility point layer is gold. It's wise sometimes to download this stuff, because I'm pretty sure the Superfund index got taken down because of some idiots talking about it too much. Google earth can also be a bit more helpful as sometimes the higher res and 3d makes it a bit easier to find stuff.




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Whole world is garbage- Garbage is delicious
hoover 2 


Location: Minneapolis MN
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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 17 on 5/5/2023 3:42 AM >
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Hey everyone, I'm hoover 2, I find drains by using Google Earth, street view and just simply driving around (especially in the winter due to the trees, weeds etc being dead. When I use Google Earth to look for drains I write down addresses and directions, then I put the addresses in my GPS so I can drive there and walk around a lot to explore areas for new drains preferably 6 feet tall and bigger but I have gone into drains that are smaller thinking that the tunnels might open up. I also look for manhole covers anywhere but in the street because you never know what you can find. Any manhole covers that say "sewer" on them are the only ones I'm looking for. Most of the time I don't like to pop manhole covers that are in the street but there are some exceptions.




hoover 2 


Location: Minneapolis MN
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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 18 on 5/5/2023 3:44 AM >
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Thanks for making this awesome post about storm drains! Drains and sewers are the most bad ass thing ever!




hoover 2 


Location: Minneapolis MN
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Re: How does one find drains?
< Reply # 19 on 5/5/2023 3:51 AM >
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Is there a way to pop manhole covers that are stuck tight (rusted in place, welded, concrete underneath)? I pop a lot of manhole covers in St.Paul and I've found several manhole covers that have concrete underneath the cover, making the covers very heavy.




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