City to highlight departments for National Public Works Week
The City of Morganton is celebrating and recognizing National Public Works Week from May 22-26, 2023. We will be highlighting different areas of our Public Works and Water Resources departments each day on our social media pages and showing how our employees do a great job at providing numerous services to our citizens. These two departments help to keep the city streets, property and water clean and operational. Make sure to check out our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages during National Public Works Week.
Let’s take a sneak peek into several different areas of Public Works and Water Resources. This does not include all the services the City provides through these two departments.
Public Works
Leaf Truck– This Leaf Truck has a large suction hose that collects leaf piles that residents have raked up and placed at the side of the road. This is a service that the City of Morganton provides to its residents through the months of October to January. The City asks that residents pile up only leaves and not large rocks or branches as it could damage the truck if collected by the suction hose. Leaf collection starts in October and continues as needed through January. Public Works collects leaves every two weeks during leaf season at no charge to residents. However, after January residents must pay a $25.00 to have loose leaves collected. Residents should pile leaves as close to the road as possible without blocking the road or sidewalks. If you bag the leaves there is no charge. Bags are collected every Friday unless it is a holiday.
Sweeper Truck - The purpose of the Sweeper Truck is to remove any remaining small debris leftover and pushes it into the compartment underneath the truck. The sweeper truck helps improve water quality and also removes the dirt sentiment and debris from curb and gutter that can clog storm water drains causing roads and properties to flood. The City asks that residents be mindful of where they park their car to be able to provide the service.
Knuckle Boom Truck – This large piece of equipment is for rough brush collection for our customers. The large grapple claw picks up large branches, debris or trash that residents put at curbside or close enough to where the truck can reach it. The operator of this machine is trained to be very aware of his surroundings including power lines, vehicles driving by, mailboxes and other landscape features. This is a service that the City of Morganton provides to its residents, but there will be a charge for excessive amounts. Please see the City website for more details.
Driveway Returns/Apron – Another service that the Public Works Department provides is creating driveway returns, which is the concrete entrance of driveway that transitions from the street to your driveway. They measure out the width of the driveway and the charge is calculated by the City rates. The fee is associated with the amount of surface area it takes to make the transition. All demolition and installation are provided by the Public Works Department.
Striper – Another one of the many facets of the Public Works Department is keeping the traffic lines painted bright and vibrant throughout the city. They use a machine called a striper that helps to spray an accurate line down the road. These machines are similar to the ones that paint the lines on football fields.
Sanitation – The City of Morganton Public Works Department provides weekly back yard residential garbage collection to City of Morganton residents. Only six percent of municipalities in North Carolina provide back yard collection.
City Garage – The City of Morganton has approximately 600 pieces of equipment that have to be serviced and the City’s garage is the main hub for repair and maintenance. From weed eaters and chainsaws to heavy duty machinery and vehicles the garage helps to maintain all the equipment.
Water Resources
Waste Water Treatment Plant – The Wastewater Treatment Division is a part of our Water Resources Department. They operate the City's sewer plant, which has an 8.0 million-gallon-per-day permit limit. In 2022, the plant treated 5.35 million gallons of wastewater per day with a reduction rate of 97% for 2022. Reduction rate is defined as removing waste from the water before discharging back into the Catawba River. There are five divisions of the wastewater treatment plant including operations, lab analysis, composting, maintenance, pre-treatment and management. Each section plays a major role in the cycle of wastewater treatment. Division staff manages the different treatment aspects of the facility including a state-certified laboratory, a pretreatment program — which incorporates grease control — and a compost facility to manage wastewater bio-solids.
Water Treatment Plant – The Water Treatment Division operates the City's water treatment plant, which produces and distributes an average of 8.8 million gallons of drinking water per day (the plant has an 18 million gallons per day capacity). The plant has 5 million gallons of on-site finished water storage and a dewatering building to get rid of the solids that accumulate in the water treatment process. They test the water daily to make sure there are no impurities and have the goal of taking surface water and making it potable or safe for drinking. There are eight pumping stations and 11 finished water storage tanks that distribute water throughout the system.
Distribution and Collection – The Distribution and Collection Division helps to maintain more than 320 miles of water lines and more than 200 miles of sewer lines throughout the City of Morganton. They install and maintain water and sewer taps and water meters for customers. They also provide a service that helps locate water and sewer lines when people call the 811 number so a utility line is not hit.
Sally Sandy, City Manager for The City of Morganton said, “I can’t even begin to describe how much we appreciate our Public Works and Water Resources employees. They are often in the trenches and in the hot sun, pouring rain or snow working each day to make this city a wonderful place to live. There are so many things that we as citizens take for granted that these individuals do. We appreciate you and all your hard work.”
For questions about services our Public Works Department provides, please visit https://www.morgantonnc.gov/publicworks or call 828-438-5248. For questions about services our Water Resources Department, please visit https://www.morgantonnc.gov/water-resources or call 828-438-5276.
