Don't try this yourself, kids.

An urban explorer ventured into an underground section of Chedoke Creek on a dry day in August of 2014, scrambled up a huge pipe — and emerged in a sewer chamber with a large gate cracked open.

That gate sound familiar?

The man dug up the old footage this week and sent it to The Spectator after reading stories about the now-infamous leaky gate that spilled 24-billion litres of sewage into Chedoke Creek over four years starting in early 2014.

"When I saw the story, I was kind of blown away," said the man, who asked not to be identified because — FYI, would-be adventurers — sewer exploration is also trespassing.

"I thought, wow, I think I've seen that. I've been there... I wish I had known what I was looking at."

The man recalls using a flashlight and inflatable boat to explore the buried creek and various offshoots before scrambling up an adult-sized pipe.

He ended up in a cavernous, dripping sewer chamber with a large gate cracked open about half the height of his cola bottle, which he briefly set on the floor. (A decision he regrets, in retrospect.)

"I didn't think much of it at the time. I thought it was just a storm sewer... It wasn't really all that stinky," said the veteran underground wanderer.

With the help of a headlamp, he took a video-recorded peek around the chamber, including beyond the cracked-open, gloppy-looking gate.

After looking at the video, city officials say they believe that is the offending gate.

It wouldn't be closed until nearly four years after the urban explorer's visit, after a belated investigation spurred by odour complaints prompted officials to search the sewer chamber.

The province is still investigating the spill. On the upside, a provincial order required the city to check all of its other similar sewer infrastructure for leaks. So far, so good.

The city stressed Friday it is dangerous (as well as illegal) to venture into the city sewer system.

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Aside from the risk of a storm trapping you inside fast-filling pipes, sewers are also slippery, full of abrupt drops and coated with potentially unhealthy pollutants. Occasionally, they contain gases that easily ignite.

mvandongen@thespec.com

905-526-3241 | @Mattatthespec