Intern Maggie’s Perspective: CCTV Experience

*Each Summer, the Engineering Division hosts an AASPIRE Public Information Officer Intern, and they experience and share about a number of City of Madison Engineering Experiences. This past summer, University of Wisconsin-Madison Journalism Student Maggie Spinney worked with Engineering Division Public Information Officer Hannah Mohelnitzky. Below, Maggie shares her experience. 

Written by: UW-Madison Student, Engineering PIO Intern Maggie Spinney 
 
Gathering ‘round the campfire and singin’ the campfire song. G-H-O-S-T L-A-T-E-R-A-L!

Wait, what?

Yes, a ghost lateral. Scary. 

I’ll rewind a little, because I think we missed a few chapters. 

This morning, I had the opportunity to ride with Taylor, the lead of our MI-TE program, as she showed me the ins and outs of the City’s sewer maintenance prevention program, Closed Circuit Television, or CCTV. 

CCTV is a proactive approach of preventative maintenance of our sewer system that minimizes disruption of sewer service to residents or customers. The sewer is inspected with a remote-controlled unit on wheels with a HD camera attached to the top. The 1,100+ foot coax cable drives it through the sewers as the maintenance team inspects for any faults or disturbances in the sewers. 

Today, the team went in to search for which sewer will connect to a new apartment building nearby. First, they popped open the sewer access cover and placed the live camera approximately 20 feet deep into the sewer system. One person stayed to ensure that the stability of the camera, while another went into the CCTV truck to watch and record live footage of the sewer system. He ran the video camera unit by pushing different levers, ensuring that the camera wasn’t missing any cracks in the sewer main. 

The real hunt was for the lateral that connected to a nearby home. A lateral is the pipe that carries your wastewater from your home to the public sanitary sewer main. The team knew that if they could find the lateral that connected to a nearby home, they would be able to connect it to the new apartment building. So the search was on. 

In order to find the lateral, they flushed a green packet of dye in the nearby home to find which pipe lead to the main sewer system. As the dye turned the water bright green, it flowed through the sewer where the team was able to find the water’s source through live footage. Now it was time for the second lateral. 

They flushed another packet of dye, but this time it was red. The camera unit ran up and down the sewer in search of the second lateral, but nothing was to be found. They searched for an hour up and down the sewer but there was no sign of red. 

“Is this a ghost lateral?” one of them said. Indeed it was. 

The three of them sat in a circle collectively brainstorming where this ghost lateral could be. Each employee had a map of the City’s sewer system in front of them trying to figure out where it could be. Each team member put on their teamwork and problem-solving hat to crack the mystery of the ghost lateral. After a long conversation of deduction, they decided to search for the lateral in another sewer main across the street.  

However, before I could watch them finish the search for the ghost lateral, I had to go back to the Engineering Division’s Operations Facility on Emil Street. The ghost lateral still haunts me. 

From what I’ve gathered, working in this field is no easy job. When something goes awry, the City employees can’t call in for help, because they are the help. In other words, to work in this field you have to be a master problem-solver. You must understand how to work with other problem-solvers who may have a different approach and figure out which approach is the best way to fix the current problem. While I put that in a very simplified, plain sentence, that is so incredibly hard to do. 

Despite the difficulties teamwork and problem-solving might present, the team handled the situation professionally and efficiently. 

I see this as a common theme throughout the Engineering Division. Everyone who works here loves their job and their coworkers, so it really does make Emil Street a fun and welcoming environment.  Through every obstacle and challenge these engineers face, they can rely on the support from their fellow coworkers to overcome anything. And although I didn’t witness the discovery of the ghost lateral, it’s no mystery they likely found it in no time.