@TheEdVerse happy that you are recovering well and continuing to answer #realmslore questions. How deep are Waterdeep’s sewers below the surface and why don’t the main and secondary lines follow the main streets but instead run underneath buildings?
— Michael O'Brien (@MichaelNSCan) October 5, 2019
1)
The depth of the sewers varies, around the city (for one thing, the city is far from flat, what with Mount Waterdeep and its spur out into Castle Ward, and the plateau that the northern end of the city stands on), but is… 2)
…always below what we real-world modern types might call ‘basement level’ (and to Waterdhavians is “cellar level,” by which they mean one fairly deep level below ground, not several subterranean levels down). It’s important…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 6, 2019
3)
…bear in mind that a lot of the sewers are flushed out by the ocean tides, coming into the harbor and ebbing out again, aided and abetted by spells cast long ago (by Ahghairon and others) and bound into the wards that help the 4)
…flows of water carry sewage (so the entire harbour doesn’t become a stinking cesspool that sickens the city and kills the resident merfolk).
In our real world, main sewer lines follow the route of streets above them purely for…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 6, 2019
5)
…ease of construction (and later access). They don’t do this in Waterdeep for two reasons: most of the sewers predate the current layout of the streets (i.e. the streets were different, back then), and because the sewer routes 6)
…are dictated more by where springs rise and flow down to the sea, and where sewers should be sited and sized best for the tidal flushing…rather than following the routes of streets above them.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 6, 2019
