official info about specific drains

BubatzLover · 23 Jan 2024, 12:37 pm

I'll preface this question by saying this is NOT me asking for drain locations, maps, etc. I can find those myself

There are a fair few drain entrances in my area, and even more locked down access points that suggest there are drains around. Are there any publicly available official directories of drains (my area falls under South East Water), with info on their purpose and construction? Besides exploring them, I also have an interest in infrastructure and it would be cool to read about some of the stuff I've seen locally. It miiight also help me find new ways in as a bonus

Echo · 23 Jan 2024, 4:58 pm

You could see if there's a dataset for it on https://data.gov.au/data/dataset (typically these go by the council region rather than the water provider.)
Or you could employ leet hacker skills to see the South East Water AssetWebMap

or just have a company that has a legitimate use to have access to it and apply https://southeastwater.com.au/building- ... t-web-map/
Apart from that I've no idea.

subterranean · 23 Jan 2024, 7:57 pm

You might know about these already, but there are a few MMBW maps available online, the most recent I've seen is from the mid 70s. Some changes since then but still a great resource.

There's also the much older but much more detailed maps from like 1895. Which can be handy for researching some very old drains.

BubatzLover · 23 Jan 2024, 9:52 pm

thanks for the tip! after some looking I found south east water's app with a comprehensive map of ALL their drain pipes, pumping stations, access points, etc. Lots to look at here, if anyone's interested: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... map3&hl=en

Echo · 23 Jan 2024, 10:24 pm

BubatzLover wrote: ↑
23 Jan 2024, 9:52 pm
thanks for the tip! after some looking I found south east water's app with a comprehensive map of ALL their drain pipes, pumping stations, access points, etc. Lots to look at here, if anyone's interested: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... map3&hl=en

That's their water/sewer etc pipes as far as I can tell. The City of Melbourne/Melbourne Water/Local Councils manages the stormwater drainage system. Stormwater drains aren't marked on this app, as I can tell by checking some known ones. https://www.melbournewater.com.au/water ... age-system
Plenty of sewers on there though if you're feeling so inclined.

Alien · 24 Jan 2024, 2:36 pm

BubatzLover wrote: ↑
23 Jan 2024, 12:37 pm
I'll preface this question by saying this is NOT me asking for drain locations, maps, etc. I can find those myself

There are a fair few drain entrances in my area, and even more locked down access points that suggest there are drains around. Are there any publicly available official directories of drains (my area falls under South East Water), with info on their purpose and construction? Besides exploring them, I also have an interest in infrastructure and it would be cool to read about some of the stuff I've seen locally. It miiight also help me find new ways in as a bonus

Literally the only physical thing I've seen was the old holy grail/sacred document that @ironfistdoug has - it's a Melways street directory with interleaved parchment paper and main drains traced over the top.

You can also google Melbourne Water Drainage Scheme, but the maps are spotty and some aren't updated. Its interesting to see how many 7 feet diameter drains that are only 100 metres long with no real access on either side... I think these are just cheap ways of making a stormwater retention chamber (like in G-Cans or locally "Dwellers Beach"). If there is an access point that belongs to sewage: you'll see it on the SEW Map (downloadable) and if it's a drain, 99.99999% in the south east, it will have an exit at a creek, beach or retarding basin. (You can probably track the path on Google Maps!)