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Public Works
Street and Sewer Section
The Street and Sewer Section is responsible for the repair and maintenance of 194 miles of City streets, 43 miles of alleys and 278 miles of sidewalks, as well as 152 miles of storm sewer and 177 miles of sanitary sewer. Street and alley maintenance involves the repair and replacement of various types of pavement, including filling potholes, patching and crack filling. Similarly, sidewalk maintenance centers on shimming slabs that have been displaced or replacing deteriorated slabs. The Engineering Department is responsible for current and proposed major construction projects. The maintenance of streets also includes sweeping throughout spring and summer and leaf collection in spring and fall.
Snow and Ice Control
The Sanitation Section and the Street and Sewer Section combine to provide emergency snow and ice control operations. Typically, many of these operations entail the application(s) of salt and/or abrasives to City streets. Larger quantities of snow must be handled by plowing. During a full scale plowing operation, the Sanitation and Street Division will have 40 pieces of equipment on the street.
All ice and snow should be removed from the public sidewalk of a property, including the curb ramp (portion of the sidewalk that leads to the street crosswalk area), within 24 hours of the end of the snowfall. If the sidewalk fails to be cleared, the City will remove the ice and snow and a charge will be placed on that property's tax bill. As a reminder, shoveling, plowing or blowing snow onto the roadway or alley will result in a fine.
Snow Emergency
The Department of Public Works generally plows all City streets and alleys when approximately three inches of snow falls in a storm. When a full scale plowing operation is initiated, the Director of Public Works generally declares a Snow Emergency. Once declared, parking is prohibited on major emergency thoroughfares for the duration of the emergency.
- List of Emergency Thoroughfares in the Police Department
- More on Snow Emergency parking restrictions in the Police Department
Sewers
The maintenance of the sewer system may be divided into two separate areas - storm sewer system maintenance and sanitary sewer system maintenance. The storm sewer system transports surface water runoff captured in catch basins to various streams and rivers in and around the City. The sanitary sewer system, on the other hand, is concerned with transporting waste water from residential and commercial properties to the sewerage treatment plant at Jones Island. The safe and efficient operation and maintenance of the City’s sanitary sewer system is of paramount concern at the Department. As such, the Department has developed a Capacity Assurance, Management, Operations and Maintenance (CMOM) Strategic Plan. Related components to this plan include the Department’s Sewer Overflow Response Plan, the Management Plan and Asset Management Program, and the Communication and Audit Plans.
These documents are also available in the Public Works Resources.
Sewer Backups
If you have the misfortune of experiencing the unpleasant sight of standing water around the floor drain in your basement, call the Public Works Sanitation and Street Division. An employee will check the City's sanitary sewer line in the street. If the blockage is in the City’s line a crew will clean the line at no expense to the property owner. If the problem is in the property’s lateral, a private plumber or sewer cleaner must be called to clean the lateral at the owner’s expense. If there is an “aroma” of sewer gas, call the Sanitation and Street Division immediately as some of these gases can be dangerous. A Public Works employee will be sent to check the situation and test the air quality in your home.
Stormwater Runoff Pollution
Stormwater runoff is water from rainstorms or snowmelt that flows over the land rather than evaporating or soaking into the ground. Urban areas generate more stormwater runoff than rural areas because of the higher concentration of buildings, paved surfaces and other impervious areas, which prevent the water from soaking into the ground. This stormwater runoff is a source of pollution to Wisconsin's lakes, rivers, and streams. This "non-point" or runoff pollution, made up of small amounts of pollution from a variety of sources, results in significant concentrations of pollutants entering Wisconsin's lakes, rivers, and streams. Everyday activities such as driving, applying fertilizers or pesticides, cutting our lawns, washing our cars, and construction of new buildings can all add to the pollution problem. Rain washes sediments and pollutants from the air, streets, drives, roofs, and other impervious surfaces into the City's stormwater sewer system. Storm sewers and ditches collect the contaminated runoff, delivering it to streams, lakes and wetlands. In these larger bodies of water the stormwater runoff results in a variety of problems including erosion of channels, creation of a wider flood plane, poor water quality and the loss of both wildlife habitat and recreational use. The water that enters the catch basin grates in the street is not treated, nor does it flow into the "deep tunnel.” Stormwater runoff flows directly into rivers and streams flowing through West Allis.
The City of West Allis participates in the Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Abatement Program. In part, this program requires the elimination of pollutants from the stormwater run-off to the maximum extent practicable. The Street and Sewer Section works to accomplish this goal by activities including, but not limited to, sweeping streets, cleaning catch basins, erosion control and monitoring storm water out-falls. Funding for these activities is provided by “stormwater” fees on the quarterly utility billing.
