City highlights role of infrastructure, staff dedication during National Public Works Week May 15-21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The City of Springfield is celebrating National Public Works Week May 15-21 by releasing its 2021 Public Works Annual Report and with various events aimed at highlighting Public Works and Environmental Services professionals, infrastructure and services vital to maintaining public health, quality of life and well-being of Springfield citizens.

"Public Works Week is an opportunity to celebrate a group of extremely hard working, talented folks who have showed remarkable dedication to serving this community throughout the pandemic in ways most citizens will never fully know," says Director of Environmental Services Errin Kemper.

"Ready and Resilient" is the theme for 2022's National Public Works Week, recognizing that within every public works professional lies a superhero who is always ready to serve their community and resilient as ever in their abilities to press on after encountering challenges. Public works employees help make our community a great place to live and work and help keep us strong by providing an infrastructure of services in transportation, wastewater and stormwater management, public buildings and spaces, public grounds, emergency management and first response, solid waste and right-of-way management.

The 2021 Public Works Annual Report highlights the department's achievements in the after-math of the pandemic and includes a budget breakdown for fiscal year 2021, roadway crash data and details of infrastructure improvement projects completed and in progress.

"We're excited to honor our employees and share our accomplishments through the 2021 annual report," explains Public Works Director Dan Smith. "This is a great way for each of our divisions to tell their story and celebrate all the services provided, projects completed and the many jobs well done throughout the year."

At the City of Springfield, traditional public works responsibilities are split between the departments of Public Works and Environmental Services, both of which have been challenged to adapt operations throughout the COVID-19 threat.

"Public works functions are vital to the resiliency of our community," says Smith. "Citizens depend on Springfield's infrastructure to support our quality of life and local economy as it continues to bounce back. Strong, stable, functioning infrastructure is necessary in order to meet our citizens' most fundamental needs and we're proud of the continuity in operations and level of service Public Works and Environmental Services maintained even in the most challenging times."

About Springfield Public Works and Environmental Services

Springfield's Public Works Department provides the community with engineering services, transportation and stormwater systems, facilities and grounds, and support services for other City departments. The department manages more than 1,770 lane miles of roadway, 141 traffic signals, and the construction of new roadway and stormwater infrastructure, while also managing Hazelwood Municipal Cemetery and caring for more than 20,000 public trees and thousands of acres of City right-of-way.

The City's Environmental Services department strives to protect the quality of life of citizens and the unique natural resources of the region by providing exceptional management of wastewater, stormwater and solid waste for visitors and citizens of Springfield. The department keeps wastewater flowing efficiently in 1,200 miles of sewer mains to the city's two award-winning treatment plants where they treat 44 million gallons of wastewater every day. Environmental Services also manages the disposal of 1,130 tons of trash per day at Springfield's Noble Hill Sanitary Landfill and operates three recycling collection centers which help divert nearly 3,900 tons of recyclable solid waste each year from contributing to the landfill. Numerous programs are also managed through the department to keep trash, sediment, household chemicals and other sources of urban pollution out of area streams and lakes.

Both departments have long held a reputation for leadership, innovation and environmental stewardship.

In 2021, Public Works and Environmental Services collectively achieved reaccreditation from the American Public Works Association (APWA) - achieving 100% compliance. The reaccreditation certifies the departments met all requirements of the best management practices established nationally in the public works industry, a distinction met by only 1% of communities across the country. During the 2021 reaccreditation process, eight items in Springfield were highlighted as "model practices" to be shared nationally with other communities. Springfield Public Works and Environmental Services first achieved accreditation by APWA in June 2013.

About National Public Works Week

Since 1960, the American Public Works Association has sponsored National Public Works Week as a way to energize and educate the public on the importance of the contribution of public works to their daily lives.

"Every year National Public Works Week gets bigger and better. The number of participating municipalities continues to grow, which means the number of citizens who are exposed to the value of public works grows. At APWA, one of our main goals is to educate the general public about the value and necessities of public works projects throughout North America, and public works professionals are our best ambassadors," according to apwa.net.

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For more information, contact Communication Coordinator Kristen Milam at 573-819-3713 or [email protected].

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