Des Moines Public Works

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Des Moines, IA
Des Moines Public Works

City of Des Moines Public Works

Serving the City of Des Moines, IA.
*Solid Waste: DSM.city/solidwaste
*Recycling: DSM.city/recycling
*Yard Waste: DSM.city/yardwaste
*Street Maintenance
*Sewers
*Sidewalks
*Snow Removal: DMsnow.org
*Forestry: DSM.city/forestry
*SCRUB Events: DSM.city/SCRUB

06/01/2026

We had two outstanding members of our team say farewell to Public Works last week, taking over 72 years of experience with them!

Rick Housley (Sewer Maintenance Worker) and Richard Lumadue (Solid Waste Section Chief) both started their careers with Public Works 36 years ago, working tirelessly to serve the residents of Des Moines for the better part of four decades.

"Rick's work ethic and friendly personality compliments the
man he is," said Joe Mireles, Rick's coworker in the Sewer Operations Division. "He has been a tremendous asset to our department and the City of Des Moines, and I myself can say without a doubt I'm a better person from knowing Rick."

"Rich leaves behind a legacy of hard work, leadership, and commitment to serving the residents of Des Moines," said Sanitation Administrator Craig Shepherd. "His knowledge of the industry, commitment to customer service, and willingness to mentor others earned him the respect of coworkers, supervisors, and employees alike, and many benefited from his guidance and leadership."

We thank these gentlemen for their many years of dedicated service to our team and hope you'll all join us in wishing them health, happiness and adventure with the people they love in retirement! 🥳

05/29/2026

In addition to picking up your garbage, recycling and yard waste year-round, our Sanitation Division is also responsible for keeping our streets clean and debris-free!

In recent years, we have moved towards adding waterless street sweepers to our fleet, significantly reducing the amount of water needed to keep litter, grease and other pollutants off the street and out of our storm sewer system and waterways!

This means that even during periods where our friends at Des Moines Water Works ask for voluntary reductions in outdoor water use, we can reduce filling our sweepers by 50% without any major disruptions to street cleaning operations!

Scroll through for some of our different sweepers and next time you see one of our operators on the road, wave hello—from a safe distance! 😉

05/28/2026

Residents who performed Soil Quality Restoration (SQR) on their properties can enjoy thicker, more resilient lawns with less need for watering or fertilizing!

SQR is a stormwater best management practice that aerates lawns, spreads compost and overseeds to introduce more organic matter into the soil, allowing for better absorption and mitigating runoff.

Visit our Clean Water Program page (see comments) to apply to get half the cost of your SQR project covered with our Stormwater Best Management Practices subsidy! We'll even perform a FREE site evaluation of your property to help you decide on a project!

Be sure to also check the City's Think Green Digital Guide for more ways to be more sustainable at home, in our parks and beyond!

05/27/2026

The Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority (WRA) is usually—and by usually, we mean 24/7, 365—concerned with cleaning the water we've used to eat, drink, clean and live with before it reenters our waterways. Today, they spent some time cleaning their facility!

Keeping the grounds, buildings and infrastructure clean and safe is essential for the WRA's mission to convey and treat wastewater for 18 communities in the Metro.

Save for a couple interesting finds (one crew found the rear axle of a pickup truck!) the dedicated staff at the WRA were able to finish in time for a cookout put on by the Employee Appreciation Committee, featuring hot dogs, burgers and all sorts of dishes and sweets to go along with the grilled goods!

The men and women of the WRA worked every day, year-round to protect public health and to enhance the environment in central Iowa through its treatment and conveyance systems, but it's nice to know they still make time to get together as a team and enjoy food and friendship in between!

Scroll through the photos to meet the faces of the WRA!

05/26/2026

A member of the Public Works family saw our three-day weekend, and raised us a full retirement!

Pumping Station Technician Danny O'Conner said farewell last Friday as colleagues and friends gathered to wish him well!

Danny spent over 31 years serving Des Moines with the Public Works Department, helping to maintain essential infrastructure in our community. He gave up some time in his final year assisting the newly-formed Employee Appreciation Committee in an effort to expand camaraderie and culture at Public Works.

Please join us in thanking Danny for his service, and wishing him plenty of time for relaxation and watching the Packers and Yankees whenever he wants in retirement!

05/25/2026

We hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend! Be sure to double-check what you're putting into your blue recycling cart during cookout cleanup!

Friendly reminder that there will be no waste collection service today, resulting in a one-day delay for all residents this week.

Please have your carts out by 7 a.m. one day after your regular collection day—Friday customers will be serviced on Saturday.

Thank you for working with us to give our crews the day off to honor the sacrifices made by our nation's heroes.

05/21/2026

Barbecue and a dunk tank!

While goes through Saturday, we held our annual luncheon today to celebrate the fine folks of Des Moines Public Works!

These men and women work hard year-round to keep our 2,215 miles of roadway, 1,600 miles of sewer lines, numerous pump stations and sewer structures, over 50,000 public trees, more than 65,000 waste collection stops and several more essential pieces of civic infrastructure in prime condition.

While no amount of thanks is ever enough, we hope a little fresh food and some fun chances (many of them successful) at dunking their bosses serves as a small token of our appreciation!

Join us in saying THANK YOU to the dedicated family at Des Moines Public Works—and be sure to enjoy some photo and video of our Director and other members of management getting dunked! 💦

05/20/2026

⚠️ Holiday Waste Collection Delay ⚠️

There will be no waste collection services on Monday, May 25. Pickup will be delayed by one day for the rest of the week.

Thank you for helping us give our staff time off with their loved ones. We wish everyone a safe, enjoyable Memorial Day weekend as we honor the brave men and women who gave all in service to our nation.

05/19/2026

Mayor Connie Boesen was joined by Public Works Director Jonathan Gano and a few of our staff members as she issued a Proclamation for National Public Works Week at last night's City Council meeting!

Much of the work performed by these dedicated employees often occurs outside of the spotlight, but that never stops them from going above and beyond for their community.

Thank you Mayor Boesen and Council Members, for highlighting all the hard work of our Public Works and WRA families.

Whether responding to storms, maintaining infrastructure or simply taking a call about garbage collection, you can count on our team to keep Des Moines clean, safe and enjoyable for all!

American Public Works Association

05/18/2026

If you're a resident of the Easter Lake Neighborhood or a frequent visitor to Ewing Park, you'll notice a bit more green next time you're in the area!

Several Public Works employees from all divisions—Street Maintenance, Sewer Operations, Clean Water Program and Sanitation—decided to today by using some Volunteer Time Off (VTO) to join our Forestry Division in planting 50 trees in the medians along Indianola Avenue!

Funded by an Inflation Reduction Act U.S. Forest Service grant, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources awarded our Forestry Division $30,000 to go towards tree planting, with a goal to focus on areas where the urban canopy is less robust. More plantings are planned in coming weeks!

Adding some green to our community is an awesome start to celebrating , and we thank this crew for their hard work today!

Find more ways to by checking City of Des Moines - Government's pinned post!

Address

1700 Maury Street
Des Moines, IA
50317

Telephone

+15152834950

Website

https://www.dsm.city/publicworks

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