Its supposed purpose was brought to Tatiana Berenstein's attention when the plans of the sewer network were submitted to the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw in 1960. In the protocol, the researcher pointed out that the documentation "testifies to the existence of a grating shutting off the sewer clearance to prevent underground communication for the ghetto inhabitants". The opinion given at the time is all the more plausible as it makes no sense from the viewpoint of the sewer system's operation to install such elements inside the sewers. As a rule, they are located at their outlets, protecting them from unwanted entry while allowing them to be cleaned efficiently. Installation in the interior makes it difficult to clean the sewers of accumulated waste, which could block sewage flow over time. Therefore, all indications are that the Bałutki sewer grating was installed intentionally to prevent people from passing through the underground sewer. It should be assumed that it was intended to close off any possible way of communication between the ghetto inhabitants and the so-called Aryan section of the city (including preventing escape from it).
It is without a doubt that the grating must still have been in the canal after 1945. At present, however, it is difficult to establish the circumstances under which it was dismantled or what happened to it. The field investigation carried out by ZWiK employees revealed the existence of only fixing elements. However, they provide evidence of the cutting off of a possible communication route. It is an open question whether its placement by the Germans was a preventive measure or whether the grating was intended to interrupt an already existing contact route. Regardless of the answer, the find points to a hitherto unknown aspect of the ghetto's functioning and extremely oppressive nature - a tight separation from the rest of the city.