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LISTEN: How A Refrigerator Gets Into A Manhole, And Other Raleigh Sewage Secrets

A manhole cover at night
Evan Blaser
/
Flickr/Creative Commons

Scott Huler explores city infrastructure for his new book, On the Grid. Listen to the stories of what's been found in Raleigh's sewers:

Here's an excerpt from the book:

Though most blockages are caused by grease or roots, the talk naturally turns to memorable clogs, and I hear about mops, golf clubs, firewood, riprap, and even a refrigerator that have had to be pulled out of manholes. Once a carpet remnant created a block so nasty it took most of a day to clear out. If you're on call and someone calls in a spill, especially one where the overflow is making its way toward a waterway, then it's showtime.

Scott's book is the third selection in Raleigh Department of Solid Waste Services's Talking Trash Book Club.The other titles the book club read were Garbageland: On The Secret Trail of Trash and Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash.

The book club meets the third Wednesday of the month at the Halifax Community Center in Raleigh.

Rebecca Martinez produces podcasts at WUNC. She’s been at the station since 2013, when she produced Morning Edition and reported for newscasts and radio features. Rebecca also serves on WUNC’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (IDEA) Committee.
Eric Hodge hosts WUNC’s broadcast of Morning Edition, and files reports for the North Carolina news segments of the broadcast. He started at the station in 2004 doing fill-in work on weekends and All Things Considered.
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