News
August 28, 2008
I Work For The City: He Shoots "Dirty Movies"
Lights! Camera! Flush!
Gene Stanley has shot and produced countless hours of film in his job. Mr. Stanley produces “movies” for the City of Raleigh. Grisly movies. While they aren’t horror films, most people would be horrified to find themselves starring in one.
>> City Show excerpt: "I Work For The City"<<
Mr. Stanley, a sewer collection superintendent for 26 years, films his work along the City’s miles of sewer lines, looking for blockages, damage to the exterior walls and potential problems. Using small cameras mounted on wheels, the City is able to be proactive in spotting trouble. The stars of these productions are often snakes, rats, cockroaches and grease; lots and lots of grease.
“Grease is the top problem we run into,” he said. “I’ve seen eight-inch lines completely blocked with grease. It will pack together and shut down a line.”
The normal flaws in sewer lines are to be expected. Tree roots looking for water make their ways into any crevice. Older lines develop sags, cracks and occasionally collapse. But the man-made objects are often the most difficult problems. However, after more than a quarter-century of looking at Raleigh’s sewers, very little surprises Mr. Stanley.
“I haven’t been surprised by anything I’ve seen in a long time,” he said. “Rings, watches, money, bedspreads, bed sheets, a small refrigerator, a bicycle, flower pots, a five-gallon bucket. It’s amazing what people flush down their commodes and throw into open man-holes. The worst thing we ever saw was a carpet. It had become waterlogged and was so wedged into the pipe that it took about eight hours to get it out.”
Mr. Stanley won’t soon forget the most valuable thing he found. A diamond ring estimated to be worth approximately $60,000 fell into a drain and its owner inadvertently turned on the water, forcing the ring further into the pipe. City crews were able to flush the line and retrieve the ring.
“That was much better than the other things we tend to find,” he said.
>> City Show excerpt: "I Work For The City"<<
Prepared by:
David Blount
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department
For More Information Contact:
David Blount
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department
222 West Hargett Street
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-890-3104
|
