We need your input and your help!  Learn ways you can be a good steward for your community. The City has a vast network of infrastructure including streets, curb/gutter, sidewalk, streetlights, traffic signals, seasonal banners, ditches, drainage piping, drainage boxes, water piping, water treatment plants, water wells, water tanks, water valves, water meters, sewer piping, sewer lift stations, service grinder pumps, air relief valves, sewer cleanouts, city buildings & facilities.

The Engineering Department strives to keep this vast network in proper operation by performing preventative maintenance and repairing the systems as needed.  This infrastructure is spread out across the city over 18.2 square miles.  We inspect and routinely perform preventative maintenance on our major system assets such as water wells, water tanks, water plants, and sewer lift stations.  These facilities are the backbone of our systems and are required for continuous operation of the utility systems.

Unfortunately we do not have extra staff to patrol the city's streets and easement looking for needed repairs and maintenance needs for the streets, ditches, and utility systems.  We rely on reports from the citizens to know where the needs are.  Once we receive concerns from citizens, the requests are prioritized based on the hazard.  Any help residents and business owners can provide to assist with keeping our infrastructure in order is appreciated. 

Below is a list of activities that you can do to help improve your city and free up time for Public Works personnel to concentrate on higher priority maintenance items:
 

• Mowing to the Street - We appreciate the many residents and business owners that mow and maintain all areas adjacent to their property including the lawn areas, landscaping beds, & ditches within right-of-ways and easements.  Believe it or not, we get requests to come out and mow those small strips of land even though it would not take the property owner/renter that much longer to mow those additional areas.  The logistics to mow those small areas is very costly and time consuming to the City.
• Cleaning Inlet Openings - The City has thousands of inlets throughout the City that collect rainwater and carry it out to canals, bayous, lakes, rivers, or the MS Sound.  If these inlets get clogged, they will not work efficiently or may not work at all, which will in turn cause street flooding or possibly even yard & house flooding.  Please inspect any drain inlet openings near your property regularly and especial before rain storms to ensure they will function properly during the next rain storm.  If there is debris, you can use a shovel or rake to clear the debris, place the debris in a trash bag, and place the trash bag curbside on your regular curbside pick-up day.  If you notice that the inlet is clear, but the water is not draining, the inlet piping may be clogged.  Please report this to the Public Works Department so we can schedule the drainage line to be cleaned out.
• Replacing Sewer Clean-Out Tops - Sewer clean outs have a tendency to get damaged by lawn mowers or other activities and need to be replaced if damaged.  Any openings allow rainwater to enter the sewer system.  This can cause flooding issues and also causes unneeded extra costs to the City.  The City pays for every gallon of sewage that gets treated at the sewage treatment plant, so when rainwater gets into the system, it is processed along with the sewage and the city is charged for that sewer processing.
• Controlling Cooking Grease - Cooking grease should never be poured down the sink drain.  Cooking grease clogging the sewer system is one of the main sewer maintenance issue facing Public Works.  Cooking grease solidifies once it cools down and sticks to the walls of the sewer pipe.  Over time, the grease builds up and blocks the sewage flow causing sewer back ups.  Please remove as much grease as you can from pots and pans prior to washing them.  You can take a paper towel and wipe any excess grease from dishes before washing.  The paper towel can be disposed of along with your other garbage.
• Yard Cleaning Waste (Yard Debris) Disposal - Do not rake or blow grass clippings into the street or into the storm drain.  Any yard clippings in the street will wash into the storm drainage system during a rain storm.  The yard clippings and leaves will clog the drainage system or will be washed out to the rivers, bayous, or the MS Sounds.  The storm drainage system is only meant for storm water.  No oil, chemicals, or other items should be poured or placed into the storm drainage system.  Remember, anything placed in the storm drainage system will eventually wash away into the rivers, bayous, and the MS Sound. 
• Reporting Maintenance Needs - Citizens are the City's eyes and ears.  If you see something in the street right-of-way, within a city easement, or at a City facility, that needs to be repaired, please report it. You can do so by sending an email to PascagoulaWorkTicket@cityofpascagoula.com. Include pictures or video if you have them.