Dropped your keys down the sewage drain? Barcelona has a special rescue team for that

The service is provided free of charge, but like most public offices it’s closed during the weekends, so you might still be in a bit of a pickle

Many cities sport sewer drain covers based on the grill model, which allows excess rainwater to pass through. Unfortunately, other things that have passed through those covers have been phones, earpods, wallets and keys, much to the horror and frustration of their owners who had inadvertently dropped them.

Well, at least if that happens in the city of Barcelona you can breathe a sigh of relief for not all is lost. There is a specially dedicated team working to retrieve any objects that have managed to fall through the cracks and into the sewer. And best of all, requesting their service is free of charge. How nice and considerate!

Every problem calls for an adequate solution

Barcelona Cicle de l'Aigua is the company that manages the city’s water systems, including its 1,650km of sewers underground fed into by around 76,000 street drains. They have a team of three people and one vehicle that helps people retrieve lost items whenever possible.

“It sounds like a lie but it’s a service quite often requested,” Daniel Christensen of Barcelona Cicle de l'Aigua told Catalan News. He went on to explain that about 90% of the objects were eventually recovered, but for various reasons not all of them could be saved. Still, it gives you hope with such a decent rate.

If the item cannot be reached through the cover, the technician will remove it and if needed will go down the sewer as part of the rescue mission. The service is completely free for residents, but the company estimates the cost of each recovery to be around 120 euros each time.

But here’s the kicker. The service is only available during office hours on weekdays, but it closes on weekends and on public holidays. Additionally, if there is rain, it is often impossible to retrieve the item, as it will not be safe for the technicians to enter the sewer at that time, or else the water may possibly sweep the item away.