MovieChat Forums > Them! (1954) Discussion > I didn't realize L.A. had such an extens...

I didn't realize L.A. had such an extensive underground tunnel system

posted 13 years ago by Eric-1226
1 reply | jump to latest

The scientist lady mentioned that the city had more than 700 MILES of underground drainage tunnels. I was so impressed by that number (700 freakin' miles, you say???) that I had to look it up (trust but verify, as Reagan would say). Well, in the ensuing 60 years since this movie came out, that number has apparently swelled to nearly 1500 miles, according to this website:

http://www.lastormwater.org/siteorg/general/lastrmdrn.htm

Wow, that's a lot of tunnels. Must've provided a lot of jobs for people back during the Great Depression. Also, this movie, with its nuclear radiation theme and desert and Joshua tree images, reminds me of "Repo Man," which, if you'll recall, also had some scenes which took place in the culverts of the L.A. storm drain system.

"Beautiful evening. You can almost see the stars..." — J. Frank Parnell, "Repo Man"

[–] derfball 8 years ago

The 'conduits' are there to handle the water that pours out of the mountains around L.A. when the 'occasional' rainstorm hits. The drainage system keeps most of that water out of the hundred of miles of the sewer system, which all large cites have. Helps with pollution control and water processing issues. Unfortunately, America's sewer systems, like other infrastructure, are now very well-aged and falling apart, and will costs billions to replace in the next several decades.