Updated May 20 at 9:30 a.m.

What do pipes, trucks, broken water mains, greener garbage and all things in between have in common? Public works!

May 17 – 23 is National Public Works Week, and this year we are more grateful than ever for the service that our team provides. While COVID-19 has brought us all some challenges, we have also seen just how important public works is to our staff and the community.

Throughout this pandemic, public works has kept Saanich going strong while adapting to physical distancing guidelines and new health and safety measures. While we all appreciate the team every day, Public Works Week is a chance to officially celebrate their dedication and commitment. This year, the theme is “the rhythm of public works” and we are highlighting some of the ways the public works team keeps us going each day.

Thanks, public works! You are at the heart of Saanich – from roads and transportation to healthy drinking water and sanitation. Public works is there!

We also want to thank the community and Saanich residents for your patience and understanding while we work to keep services running during these challenging times.

We have a number of staff profiles in recognition of the week, have a read below and read about these dedicated individuals!

Signs  |  Solid waste  |  Waterworks  |  Support services

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What is your name, position, section you work for? 
Wayne Zawacki, Sign Manufacturer, Engineering Department.

How long have you worked at Saanich?
2.5 years.

What does a typical day look like for you?
I start my mornings with organizing the day. I am a multitasker and I usually start with designing signs from the request I’ve had from the previous day, I then set up and send the jobs to print or cut in vinyl. Then I’ll make the signs in the afternoon. I continue the day with estimates and I am always available for rush jobs. People know they can count on me for a quick turnaround.
I make almost all of the signs, including vehicle wraps and graphics for every department in Saanich: Police Department, Fire Department, Parks, Rec centres, Engineering and all the other departments at the municipal hall and public works.

Tell me about one of your most memorable projects or situations.
Out of all the projects there are two that stand out for me:
I was tasked with designing and installing a full wrap on one of our Saanich Fire Engines for the Fire Department as they celebrated their Centennial in 2019. I am so excited at the way it turned out.
We designed and fabricated the crests that can be seen all the way along Shelbourne Ave to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1918 Armistice that ended the First World War as well as the 1921 Dedication of the Memorial London Plane trees. This connection with our history is important to me.

What do you enjoy about your job?
I love working with a team. From the sign installers, road marking crew and our carpenters. We work well together and help each other out when needed.

What’s your most valued ‘go-to’ piece of equipment, why?
My large format printer. I can create a huge variety of signs and vehicle graphics starting with this printer. Next week I’ll be receiving our new printer that blows this one out of the water. It’s faster, prints higher quality images and will also be able to print direct to Diamond Grade vinyl which we use for all of our street signs. If you have an idea, I can make it!

What is one thing nobody would know about your job or fun fact about your job?
Unless you know the team that I work with, you wouldn’t know the great sense of humour we all have. We all enjoy working together.

If there is one thing you’d like residents to know about your job, what would that be?
That I take pride in what I do and I am so proud to work for The District of Saanich and the residents who live here.

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What is your name, position, section you work for? 
Josh Rolfe, Waste Collector, Solid Waste Services.

How long have you worked at Saanich?
I started in 2011, 9 years ago.

3What does a typical day look like for you?
Every workday we meet as a team to plan the day’s work, then we inspect our trucks to make sure they’re ready for the day ahead. Then, depending on whether I am collecting Garbage, or Organics, emptying bus shelter litter bins, or delivering new carts to residences, I head out to complete my work.

Tell me about one of your most memorable projects or situations.
I really enjoy the annual Leaf Collection Program. We get to use some vacuum trucks and suck up all the leaf piles. The work is hard, but rewarding knowing we’re getting this important service done for Saanich residents.

What do you enjoy about your job?
I enjoy the interaction with the public, especially seeing the smiles on kid’s faces – they appreciate the big trucks we drive more than anybody.

What’s your most valued ‘go-to’ piece of equipment, why?
Honestly, I really like all the specialized equipment we are trained to operate, but if I have to pick one it would be the Backhoe. We use it to load dump trucks and to compact yard waste into bins that get hauled away for composting.

What is one thing nobody would know about your job or fun fact about your job/section?
There are 20 Full Time employees that help provide all the Solid Waste Services for Saanich. Everyday, we use 16 Garbage trucks to get the garbage collected, and the residents count on us. We work hard, but we always find time to share some laughs.

If there is one thing you’d like residents to know about your job, what would that be?
My public service announcement would be to ask people to respect how big these garbage trucks are. They can be hard to maneuver through parked cars on tiny streets, and they are heavy and take more space to stop. We are great drivers, I must admit, but please help us when you can.

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What is your name, position, section you work for?
Dale Rowan, Technical Operations Supervisor, Waterworks.

How long have you worked at Saanich?
I have worked at Saanich in Waterworks since 2007.

What does a typical day look like for you?
The typical day starts with the three sections of waterworks discussing job tasks for the day and whether any issues have developed overnight or over the weekend.  It’s a team effort between the maintenance, construction and technical operations sections for determining how we address the various issues that can occur in a water distribution system that is in operation 24/7.  After that I take a look at the SCADA system and check conditions at the various pressure reducing stations, pump stations, and water reservoirs in the system to see if there were any anomalies that occurred after work hours.  The remaining hours of the day are spent working on or planning projects for maintaining the system, and of course many emails and phone calls.

Tell me about one of your most memorable projects or situations.
My most memorable project spans many years.  When I first started at Saanich I was on the construction crew that installed the new 24 inch ductile iron water main from Haliburton and Pat Bay Highway through Royal Oak to the Rithet Reservoir.   The project to run the new water main was to get water from the CRD at a higher pressure so we could fill the reservoir by gravity instead of the existing pumping system.  The new pipe allowed waterworks to fill the reservoir faster and without the costs of running a pump.  I helped put in the last pieces of pipe and valves that led into the existing Rithet Reservoir.  Then, I transitioned to a new position as the waterworks operations technician where I had to help configure and operate the new valves to fill the reservoir.  A few years later I was involved in the Rithet Reservoir replacement project where I had input into aspects of the design that would make it easier to operate.  Myself and others commissioned the new reservoir and placed it into operation.  It is an important component of the Saanich Distribution system where it supplies water to the Royal Oak, Broadmead, Blenkinsop valley, and ultimately into Gordon Head.

What do you enjoy about your job?
I love the technical nature of my job.  There are many different components within the water system, there are always new pieces of equipment or techniques to know about.  Honestly though, I think my greatest enjoyment comes from the sense of community I get from being part of the water system that provides water to the Saanich residents.  We all depend on the safety and integrity of our public water systems.

What’s your most valued ‘go-to’ piece of equipment, why?
Our SCADA system (which stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is my most valued tool.  The SCADA system allows myself and other operators an overview glance of our water system in action in real time and allows us to adjust certain aspects of the system remotely.  We can see water pressure, flow rates, and reservoir levels at the various stations throughout Saanich and from that we can confirm that the system is operating as it should.  Since the water system is in operation 24/7, the SCADA system is always monitoring the system and will alarm after hours staff of conditions that are abnormal and needs attention.

What is one thing nobody would know about your job or fun fact about your job/section?
The Saanich Water Distribution System has over 540 km of water main spread across 31 different water pressure zones that are supplied by 18 water pumping stations, 49 pressure reducing stations, and 4 water reservoirs.

If there is one thing you’d like residents to know about your job, what would that be?
That I take pride in what I do and always strive to give the best, most efficient service to Saanich residents.

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The glue holding it all together is our fantastic support services team!
Here are some numbers for 2019 that you may find interesting:

• Phone calls answered: 8,404 (July – December 31)
• Calls For Service entered: 10,798
• First Aid assistance: 214 or 57% of the municipal total
• Training sessions booked/coordinated: 11
• Contract Services hired excluding block bookings: 3,335
• Call List employee shifts schedule: 3,754
• SWS Weight slips entered: 231
• Cart changes made: 1,311
• SWS collection schedules mailed: 145
• Traffic Advisories completed: 169
• Water shut down notifications sent: 126
• UGs completed: 1,978
• Contractors UGS completed: 4,514
• UG Locates: 1,400
• Safety minutes issued: 66
• First Aid Refresher training completed: 6
• Payroll entries monthly: 5,514 on average.
• P-cards statements completed: Over 600
• Third party billings work orders created: 31
• Third party billings completed: 4
• Meter change outs logged: 979
• New employees oriented: 10 call list employees

Dale Rowan, Technical Operations Supervisor, Waterworks