Descending into the sewer at Third and B. The Sewer System of Davis is a hidden underworld of labyrinthine tunnels that snake below the earth's surface. Through the pitch black passages, some of which date back to 1921, there flows a foul-smelling muck of a most unwholesome sort. The tunnels are bombarded by these never-ending streams of waste, some of which flow from drains on sides of streets, while others come from restrooms and kitchen sinks.
Once the goo reaches the sewers, a flow is maintained by gravity thanks to the angled surfaces of the infrastructure. At times throughout its passage, the waste comes across a wet well that is monitored by an electronic sensor. When the well has collected enough waste, a device begins to pump the it up to the next leg of its journey; gravity once more takes over. Davis has 6 of these lift stations for crap-infused sewage and 8 strictly for storm drainage. There are 156 miles of sewage lines and 126 miles of drainage lines.
The filthiest and slimiest muck is so abhorrent that it needs to be banished to a special region of hell called the sanitary sewer; from there it is eventually pumped out to a purgatory known as the Waste Water Treatment Plant and later released into the Davis Wetlands. A lesser hell, the storm sewer, collects more benign fluids that resemble water in varying degrees of pollution. These fluids go untreated and wind up flowing to Putah Creek, Willow Slough, and nearby ponds. There are 6 designated stormwater ponds accompanied by 15 miles of drainage channel. All storm drainage collected at UC Davis flows into the Arboretum Waterway.
The few brave humans who dare enter these wretched places do so with the help of ground portals known as manholes. Most of these adventurers are affiliated in some way with the Davis Public Works, but a small minority identify themselves as urban explorers. These trespassers get their kicks out of visiting secret places and wading through excrement. Sewer dwellers must constantly be on the look out for disease-bearing rats. There are also unfounded rumors of alligators and grues that are said to roam the tunnels at night in search of idiots without flashlights.
See also: Utilities
