Sewer System

It may be a dirty job, but somebody has got to keep Cape Suzette's water supplies clean. That responsibility falls on the city's department of sewers, which removes hundreds of thousands of gallons of waste materials each day, through a sewer system as large as the town it supports.

Few give thought to the enormousness of such a task or the infrastructure that makes it possible, unseen below the pavement of Cape Suzette's streets. Drain covers and manholes allow access to the network of sewer pipes that run beneath Cape Suzette, shuttling a ceaseless stream of water under the feet of unaware pedestrians. After being filtered and decontaminated, the water pours back into the bay through huge ports such as this one (at right).

Far more amazing than the scope of the sewer system is the brilliance and work it took to conceive and construct this maze of tunnels. Much of it was laid decades ago and runs alongside Cape Suzette's subway tunnels. Maps of the system aid public workers in identifying how far passages go and where to dig to avoid rupturing a pipe. Many sewer tunnels are wide enough, they say, that a car or airplane could fit.

Not everything in this subterranean labyrinth is marked out on a map. Secrets lurk in the shadows of this alien world, the stuff of urban legends — from whispers of wretched monsters to rumors that criminals hide out in forgotten chambers underground.