Where is the water near to the Whitehouse ("24" spoliers)
 

I'd always assumed it was in the middle of the city nowhere near the sea as that's how it appears on TV and in films. But on last night's 24 a group of soldiers were on a boat, dove in to the water, swam to some rocks and started drilling. Somehow they managed to get from there in to the Whitehouse. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo.../confused1.gif

http://maps.google.com/

Search for Washington DC.

i think this may be the first recorded instance of a tv show having noticeable inaccuracies to real life.

this is an historic day.

It's really not THAT far-fetched. It's known there are tunnels underneath Washington DC and the Whitehouse. Where those tunnels go isn't public information. There could be tunnels that lead to surrounding water. Hopefully, if they do exist, they are a little more secure than on 24.

South Park used this same plot line using the Ocean's movie theme with the '08 Presidential election.

There's plenty of water around here. DC was pretty much built on a swamp.

The Tidal Basin comes right up next to (IIRC) the Jefferson/Lincoln Memorials, which is part of the Potomac River. That entire river is lined with rocks pretty much. The White House is maybe, MAYBE 1.5 miles from the water. That's a stretch. At a relaxed walk, one can get from the Tidal Basin area to the White House in about 30 minutes.

And as someone stated, there are plenty of underground passages in DC. Some for Metro, some for sewage, some for unseen movements of diplomats. There was a rumor (dunno how true it was) that I've heard of where there's a tunnel connecting the Capitol to the White House. That's about 1.5 miles. I know there are tunnels between the Treasury, White House, and Old Executive Building.

Basically, there are plenty of ways for dignitaries to get around DC without being seen.

Shortest distance from the Whitehouse to water is about 3/4 of a mile. As others have said, there are many tunnels underneath DC, so I guess it isn't too far fetched.