I've been reading up on my city's storm drain system, and I've found that apparently there are some pretty interesting brick drains I want to go looking for once we get a few days without rain here. Unfortunately, there is a slight potential issue with these drains.
The oldest drains in this city (the brick ones I want to find) were built over one hundred years years ago. According to a statement issued by a city utility manager, inspecting the storm drain pipes is not a priority. Reading between the lines, it is possible that some of these drains have not been inspected since their construction.
This by itself wouldn't be quite as worrying, except for the numerous sinkholes in the last five years caused by structural failures of the city's water utilities- including a sixteen foot deep sinkhole the size of a car that formed just last year when one of the brick storm drains collapsed. Considering my desire to find and explore these brick drains, it is a concern.
So, we've all heard about how to judge the structural integrity of an abandoned building, but how about the structural integrity of drains and tunnels? What are the signs of structural damage to a drain, and should I even be concerned at all?
The oldest drains in this city (the brick ones I want to find) were built over one hundred years years ago. According to a statement issued by a city utility manager, inspecting the storm drain pipes is not a priority. Reading between the lines, it is possible that some of these drains have not been inspected since their construction.
This by itself wouldn't be quite as worrying, except for the numerous sinkholes in the last five years caused by structural failures of the city's water utilities- including a sixteen foot deep sinkhole the size of a car that formed just last year when one of the brick storm drains collapsed. Considering my desire to find and explore these brick drains, it is a concern.
So, we've all heard about how to judge the structural integrity of an abandoned building, but how about the structural integrity of drains and tunnels? What are the signs of structural damage to a drain, and should I even be concerned at all?
[last edit 6/9/2018 10:15 AM by Aran - edited 1 times]