What Is 'Still Water'? The Nastiest Thing in Abandoned Buildings

Still water is my word for stagnant water sitting in an abandoned place, indoors or outdoors, meaning water that has been there so long nothing is moving it, filtering it or treating it. Health agencies list sewage, chemicals, mold, Legionella bacteria and mosquito breeding among the risks of standing water, and I touch it on camera anyway.

I throw rocks in it, and I tell you not to recreate any of it. This post is the long version of that warning. It’s entertainment and general information, not medical advice. If you think you’ve been exposed to something, ask a doctor.

Where does still water come from?

Water gets in, and nothing moves it out. Roofs leak first. The EPA lists roof leaks as a cause of hidden moisture in roof materials above ceiling tiles. Basements flood from below. K-State Extension says water enters a basement from three general sources, which are water running in from near the building, a high water table that can be permanent or seasonal, and flooding.

A sump pump is what normally handles that, and it runs on electricity. NDSU Extension calls it “the first line of defense to keep water out of the basement” and says the most common cause of failure is “a loss of utility-provided power.” In an abandoned building with the power shut off, an electric pump has nothing to run on. Pipes add to it. The Village of Park Forest, Illinois, warns that when stagnant water in piping freezes, “the water/ice will expand putting high pressure on pipe joints,” and it recommends keeping a vacant space at 55°F or higher.

Outside, anything that holds rain counts. The CDC’s list of containers to empty or scrub every week to stop mosquitoes includes tires, buckets, planters, pools, birdbaths, flowerpot saucers and trash containers. A pool nobody drained is on it.

What’s actually in it?

Nobody knows exactly, and that’s the problem. The CDC’s page on floodwater says it plainly. “We don’t know exactly what is in floodwater at any given point in time.” It lists sewage, and household, medical and industrial hazardous waste, including chemical, biological and radiological hazards. Eating or drinking anything contaminated by it can cause diarrheal disease, including from E. coli and Salmonella, and the CDC says open wounds and rashes exposed to floodwater can become infected.

Floodwater isn’t the same as water sitting in a dead building’s basement, and I’m not claiming it is. But the CDC’s overview of flood safety names standing water too, saying “Floodwater and standing water can be dangerous and can make you vulnerable to infectious diseases, chemical hazards, and injuries.”

Outdoors, there’s runoff. The EPA says that as runoff moves, “it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants,” including oil, grease and toxic chemicals from urban runoff.

Can it make you sick without touching it?

Yes, in three ways, and none of them requires touching the water.

Legionella is a bacterium that grows in water systems. The CDC lists what helps it grow, including biofilm, temperatures between 77°F and 113°F, not enough disinfectant and “slow or no water movement.” Its reopening buildings guidance says stagnant or standing water in a plumbing system “can increase risk for growth and spread of Legionella.” The CDC says breathing in small droplets is the most common way people get sick, and that in general people don’t spread Legionnaires’ disease to each other.

Then mold. The EPA’s guide says to dry water damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth, and still water is the opposite of that. It also says inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive people, and that mold can cause asthma attacks in people with asthma who are allergic to it.

Then mosquitoes. UGA Extension says all mosquitoes require standing water to develop, and counts “any item or debris that holds water for a week or longer” as larval habitat. The larval stage can last as little as 5 to 6 days, it adds, and pupae typically need 2 to 3 more.

Why does it smell so bad?

It’s chemistry, and the best sourced explanation I have is about ponds. New Mexico State’s extension service says low oxygen increases the activity of anaerobic bacteria, “which create methane and hydrogen sulfide gases during anaerobic decomposition.” Hydrogen sulfide “has a rotten egg smell,” and ponds with oxygen poor bottoms and accumulated organic matter “can release these gases when the bottom sediment is disturbed.” That page is about fish ponds, so treat it as the textbook version, not a reading of any building I’ve been in.

The smell is also a poor guide. OSHA’s fact sheet on a hydrogen sulfide release describes a colorless, flammable, corrosive gas with an odor similar to rotten eggs. It says people can lose their ability to smell it, even at low concentrations, a condition called olfactory fatigue, and warns that smell shouldn’t be used to detect it. That document is about oil and gas work, and a puddle in a basement isn’t a well site. What carries over is the lesson that a smell is not a measurement. If it stops smelling bad, that doesn’t mean it went away.

Why do I touch it on camera?

I touch it, I throw rocks in it, and I tell every viewer not to recreate anything. Most explorers find the videos cringe.

Everything above is the case against copying me. A thrown rock stirs the bottom, which NMSU says is when oxygen poor water can release its gas. It also puts water in the air, and breathing in small droplets is how most people get Legionnaires’ disease when the bacteria are in the water. A hand in it is skin on whatever the CDC can’t name, and the CDC says open wounds and rashes exposed to floodwater can become infected. Its advice is the opposite of my camera work. “The best way to protect yourself is to stay out of the water.”

The disclaimer at the bottom of every page on this site says it too. “Don’t try to recreate anything you see here.” The videos are entertainment, and this post is the long version of that line.

What does this look like in practice?

Cellars and basements are where groundwater comes in, and the wine cellar in the French mansion post is the kind of place I mean, with a well that goes down farther than the light reaches, and bats close enough that one went past my ear. France’s Largest Waterpark Left to Rot is another, since a waterpark is built around pools, and pools are on the CDC’s list.

I film on a DJI action camera and carry one good flashlight, because most flashlights, including brand ones, aren’t bright enough. Both are linked at the bottom of this page.

None of this is specific to one building. It’s the same short list wherever the water is, meaning where it came from, what it picked up and how long it has sat. The CDC’s one week rule for containers that hold water and the EPA’s 24 to 48 hour rule for drying out water damage are two clocks, and a place nobody is maintaining isn’t keeping to either. The CDC also says not to bathe in water that may be contaminated with sewage or toxic chemicals. Sewage and toxic chemicals are two of the things it can’t rule out.

How I stay safe in places like these is covered in a $9.99 PDF called How to Find Abandoned Places.