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Sabotaging the NYC water tunnels could make the city uninhabitable for years.
by dhosek 2y ago
Sabotaging the NYC water tunnels could make the city uninhabitable for years.
- bilbo0s 2y ago??? Um, sabotaging any city's water tunnels would make the city uninhabitable for years. Most frightening experience I ever had as engineer in my life: I was intern. At a place in a midwestern city where a city's water infrastructure can be monitored. Long story short, I heard "PING". Then three more "PING"s. Then another "PING". Then 2 more. Even as an idiot intern, I knew what the implications were with respect to tensioned concrete. I was thinking in my head, "8 feet diameter. 96 inches." But I couldn't remember the PSI because I probably had already soiled myself. Thankfully there was a grey beard there who coolly looked over at me and said, "Probably want to start shutting that down son." 2 things I learned. Calm is contagious. And our infrastructure is way more frail than should be the case.
- heavenlyblue 2y agoWhat does ping mean?
- rvnx 2y agoThere are steel wires inside the concrete that holds the structure, and when they are about to break, they start to crackle ("ping"). https://youtu.be/RMZW1SX_rbk?t=48 https://youtu.be/RMZW1SX_rbk?t=48
- mhb 2y agoUh, how about a spoiler alert? Linking to the end ruined the first 75 seconds for me.
- karaterobot 2y agoShutting what down? Anyway, terrifying.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- rrnechmech 2y ago> "Probably want to start shutting that down son." Can totally picture
- dhosek 2y agoBut NYC has a rather high level of vulnerability with a small number of choke points (there are currently only two water tunnels for the entire NYC metro area), but yes, the water infrastructure for a lot of major cities could be disrupted disturbingly easily.
- woodruffw 2y ago> there are currently only two water tunnels for the entire NYC metro area How are you counting this? If you mean Hudson River crossings between NJ and Manhattan, there are five: two road tunnel groups (Holland and Lincoln) and three rail grops (Upper/Lower Hudson and North River). When Gateway is complete (2030s), there will be four rail groups. But if you mean the entire NYC metro area, there are significantly more: Manhattan <-> Brooklyn alone has the Hugh L. Carey for road traffic, and then six active subway tunnel groups. Manhattan <-> Queens has a similar number.
- bandyaboot 2y agoThis is in reference to the 2 tunnels that supply water to the NYC metro area.
- woodruffw 2y agoThanks, I misread that. Although technically there are three operational water tunnels for NYC :-) — tunnel #3 is operational despite being under construction.