Unidentified individuals in waders have been filmed surfacing from New York City manholes in a series of unauthorized entries since May 5, drawing viral attention. City officials say the activity is illegal and dangerous, citing risks such as noxious gases, sudden flooding and damage to critical infrastructure. Police have arrested two people in a separate Brooklyn case, and local leaders are seeking hearings to better secure maintenance holes. Experts say there is no evidence of an organized "underground society," though the repeated incidents have raised public-safety and infrastructure concerns.
Mysterious 'Sewer Divers' Surface From NYC Manholes — Officials Warn of Danger and Illegality
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Groups of people wearing chest waders and coveralls have repeatedly been filmed surfacing from maintenance holes across New York City at night, generating viral social-media attention and renewed concern from city officials about public safety and infrastructure security.
What Officials Know
Since May 5, authorities have documented four unauthorized entries into the city's underground system. The most widely shared video, dated August 18, shows three people emerging from a manhole near Penn Station; another clip reportedly captured a group entering a maintenance hole in Wantagh on Long Island. In a separate Brooklyn incident, police arrested two men on criminal trespass charges after officials said they had been "sewer diving."
"The underground network contains noxious gases, flooding risks and confined spaces," said Déja Stewart, a spokesperson for New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection. She warned that entering the system endangers "the safety and security of our critical infrastructure."
Risks and Responses
New York's sewer and drainage network stretches roughly 7,500 miles. Officials say unauthorized access can produce immediate hazards — from toxic-gas exposure and sudden flooding to injuries for those entering and dangers to pedestrians or drivers if covers are dislodged or missing.
Council Member Phil Wong, who represents parts of Queens, reported that his office logged at least six exposed maintenance holes in August, with three still open when he spoke. Wong has called for hearings to explore better ways to seal or secure covers after repeated complaints about missing, damaged or dislodged lids.
Why People Might Go Underground — And Why Experts Are Skeptical
Speculation online has ranged from urban exploration to scavenging for copper wire. Steve Duncan, an urban explorer who has spent two decades in New York’s subterranean spaces, said the people in the videos did not appear inexperienced and that their timing — often after rain — suggested they understood when conditions might be less hazardous. "When it rains, that has the effect of flushing out the nasty stuff," he told The Irish Times.
Still, Duncan questioned whether sewer diving is a practical way to recover valuables. "Out of all the ways to scavenge a bit of money in New York, buying headlamps and chest waders and going into a manhole cover seems like the most absurd way to go about it," he said.
"Members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole or outfall," Stewart added, emphasizing prevention of further unauthorized entries as the city's priority.
Broader Context
The incidents have also drawn attention to how buried systems can create above-ground problems. Officials point to other cases where hidden infrastructure caused health, contamination, or environmental issues:
- In Taiwan, inspectors uncovered illegal dumping that involved company workers and septic sewage.
- In Lowndes County, Alabama, failing pipes exposed residents to parasites and public-health risks.
- In Austin, researchers linked roadside debris to microplastic contamination in waterways.
Those examples underscore why city leaders treat unauthorized sewer access as both a public-safety issue and a potential threat to critical infrastructure. Authorities urge anyone with information about the recent entries to contact local police or the Department of Environmental Protection rather than attempting to investigate on their own.
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