These Photos Capture the World’s Sewer Systems When They Were Brand New

Incredible photos that make you think about how complex sewer systems really are.

via Smithsonian

Below our city streets lies an ad-hoc world of subterranean tunnels and pipes. The oldest are brick and concrete sewers that once carried waste streams in one direction, rainfall overflow in another. Today, these waterways must contend with newer sewers, subway tunnels, power lines, and fiber-optic cables. But in the 19th century, these labyrinths were the only man-made things that existed below ground.

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