Q: I saw water dripping onto the tracks at Astor Place Station. Steam was coming off the third rail. Is that dangerous? How much water drips or leaks into the subway every day and how do they get rid of it?

A: When told about your particular situation, transit officials said they would have someone look into the drip – but, a transit spokesman, Charles Seaton, said it’s not really dangerous.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority pumps 13 million gallons of water a day from the city’s subways on a day when there is no rain. If water hitting the third-rail was dangerous, then it would be impossible to run subway lines above the ground, Mr. Seaton said.

When a subway track is submerged under water, however, trains are shut down.The 650 volts of direct current can no longer connect directly to the train and lengthy delays usually ensue. This was the case in late July 1996, when thunderstorms left parts of the subway under three feet of water. There were delays across the system throughout the day, as transit workers and hydraulics crews tried to pump out the water.

Many subway workers spend their days tending the 950 or so pumps in the tunnels. One detail is specifically charged with grouting the walls, because water filters through the concrete and leaks into the tunnels.

If there is an emergency, how do paramedics get past the turnstile? What if there is no station agent there? Do police and firemen get free MetroCards?

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has given out about 45,000 special MetroCards to law enforcement officers for that very reason, a transit spokesman, Paul Fleuranges, said. Most of the cards were given out to the police, who are charged with keeping the subways secure. They were issued about 43,000 cards. The Fire Department was given 1,725 cards, which are kept in ambulances and fire trucks so that emergency personnel can quickly get to victims and fires on the other side of the turnstiles. Another 311 cards were given to detective investigators in the five district attorney offices of the city.

The cards are specially designed for the different forces: The Fire Department have red and white cards, while the police and detective investigators have blue and white cards.

Police officers and the detective investigators are allowed to use the cards to get to and from work, but because the Fire Department keeps the cards in the ambulances, firemen and emergency personnel aren’t afforded the same benefit.