It once was by the sea, but all the water was pumped away into Killdeer Fields, to save the town. Every now and again a bell rings, and you have to put on a mask to protect yourself from salt lung, although Snicket's chaperone S. Theodora Markson incorrectly states that it is to be able to breathe in depth of the water pressure. The town is "fading", and it's major export, ink, is quickly running out, thus vastly slowing the local economy.