Almost 31 years ago, Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Maintenance Crew Leader Scott Getsinger joined GUC as one of only three Maintenance Mechanics who took care of both the Plant and roughly 30 pump stations throughout our sewer distribution system. He recently retired as one of two Crew Leaders who manage eight Maintenance Mechanics. He landed in his current role in 2022 when he and his crews took charge of overseeing the now 46 remote pump stations.
Scott came to GUC with an electrical background working for Edgecomb Electric. Once at GUC, he quickly became multi-skilled with knowledge of not only electronics and electrical systems, but also pumps, motors, hydraulics, and pump mechanics. Scott holds a Grade IV Collections Certification from NC Wastewater Operator Certification Board and a Class II Maintenance Technologist Certification from NC One Water.
He’s seen a lot of change and worked on many different projects and jobs during his GUC career, but Scott says inspecting the pump stations is still his favorite.
“Unlike when I started here, we now have SCADA to help us manage and keep an eye on all of the pump stations from right here at the Plant,” he said. “But the state mandates that we physically inspect each pump station at least once a month. It takes 10 hours to ride the entire system to inspect pump stations, and that’s only when we have zero issues to stop and work on. It normally takes a few days.”
A big safety change Scott helped initiate was for confined spaces of wet well maintenance work. “I am proud to have designed a system to clean the wet wells without having to go all the way down in them. I designed a scraper using a bull float handle made out of aluminum. We still use that today.”
Another memory that stands out for Scott was in 2016. “We were the first GUC mutual aid wastewater crew to assist another utility,” he reflected. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew brought a lot of flooding to GUC and other utilities in Eastern North Carolina. After WWTP staff had ensured GUC was in the clear and things under control locally, Scott and some others from the Plant headed to Richlands to help get their wastewater treatment plant back operational.
Scott has also been a judge for the NC One Water Operators Challenge, which was the same year the WWTP staff were presented with the Wastewater Treatment Plant Operations & Maintenance Excellence Award.
“Looking back, there’s never really been a time that I’ve dreaded getting up and coming to work,” Scott said. “GUC has been a pretty cool place to work.”
Scott and his wife, Nikki, of 24 years have been slowly relocating to Emerald Isle where they’ve been remodeling the home that his parents left to them. “I plan on doing a whole lot of fishing,” he said. He looks forward to spending more quality time with family, including their three adult daughters, the youngest of whom graduates in June from D.H. Conley.
We wish you the very best of luck in retirement, Scott!
