Public Works Notice: Did you know that “flushable wipes” clog sewer drains? Three things you can do to help us continue providing the important services you depend on
Our Public Works teams are on limited schedules and rotations, but still working hard to provide the services you depend on, like water, wastewater and transportation. Please help us continue to do so during these challenging times.
Three easy ways to help:
- The City encourages using disinfection products to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 but asks for your help to dispose of all wipes, including those labeled as “flushable,” and other cleaning products using the trash rather than flushing them down the toilet. Wipes and other cleaning products cause sewer blockages, backups, overflows, and can damage pumps and other critical infrastructure.City crews are now needing to inspect key areas where sewer pipes are susceptible to clogging from such items three times a week. Please do your part to reduce this need.
- Help the Jefferson County Transfer Station by refraining from self-hauling yard waste to the transfer station. Instead, please use the yard waste containers provided by Waste Connections and hold off on doing large home yard projects that generate the need to self-haul to the transfer station. The transfer station has limited capacity during these times but is endeavoring to stay open. Please check their website to stay current on their operations.
- Please call in and report problems such as clogged storm drains, signs that have been knocked over, or tree limbs in the road. With limited crews, we are not able to make the rounds as often. Your reporting of a problem is appreciated. Please note that these calls will be prioritized, and safety hazards addressed first. We appreciate your patience.
Public Works Operations and Staffing Update
Public Works teams operating the water and wastewater systems, as well as streets and internal City support services have moved to a limited staffing plan to keep essential functions of the City operating while protecting employees. A rotation schedule allows the City to provide an extra layer of protection to ensure we have the technical staff available at all times to keep City infrastructure systems operating. As a result of implementing a limited staffing plan, the City will need to prioritize requests from residents accordingly. We ask for your help and patience as we work through this challenging time.
Please contact us at (360) 379-5096 during work hours. For emergencies after hours and on weekends, please call JEFFCOM dispatch at (360) 385-3831, ext. 1. They can dispatch City crews to assess the situation.
Water Safety
The City of Port Townsend water system operators work every day to ensure safe drinking water is provided to the community. Our multi-barrier water treatment process utilizes ultra-filtration membranes and chlorine as a disinfectant to kill viruses and other pathogens. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has concluded that standard filtration and disinfection process for potable water systems should protect against the spread of COVID – 19 in drinking water. For more information, visit the CDC website.
We invite you to stay abreast of the latest information regarding how the City is addressing COVID – 19 on the City website COVID page.
