Public Works Division

FATS, OILS & GREASE
The Fats, Oils & Grease (FOG) Reduction Program was implemented by the City of Upper Arlington Public Service Department in order to monitor and reduce the amount of FOG that enters the City’s sanitary sewer system. The FOG program works to prevent sanitary sewer overflows (SSO), sewage spills, and sewer back-ups.

LEAF COLLECTION
Each fall, the City of Upper Arlington provides curbside leaf collection services, typically between mid-October and early December, to assist residents with the disposal of leaves. This program is one of the City’s signature services and, as a result, staff in the Public Works Division is dedicated solely to this task throughout the duration of the program. On average, crews collect about 20,000 cubic yards of leaves each season from the City’s 346 lane miles of roadway. In addition to the abundance of trees on private property, there are over 17,000 trees in the City right-of-way.

MOSQUITO CONTROL
Each year, the City takes an integrated approach to controlling the mosquito population. The combined efforts of the City, the UA Board of Health, Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) and residents are key to reducing populations. FCPH focuses on taking action in areas with a high incidence of mosquitoes testing positive for diseases such as West Nile Virus (WNV) and Encephalitis. It is hoped these efforts can break the disease cycle.

ROADS, CURBS & SIDEWALKS

The Public Works Division is responsible for the oversight of general annual roadway maintenance, to keep our roadways clean and in good working condition. Responsibilities include: pothole repair, crack sealing, street painting and street signs.

SEWER & STORMWATER
The Public Works Division of the Public Service Department is dedicated to providing quality and professional research, investigation and repair of the community’s sanitary sewer, stormwater and potable water systems in the most efficient manner possible. The Sanitary Sewer System conveys all potable water from homes and businesses to the Jackson Pike plant for treatment prior to being discharged into the Scioto River. The Storm Sewer System conveys rain water from roof tops and roadways directly to streams that discharge into the Scioto and Olentangy rivers without treatment. The Water Distribution System conveys potable water provided by the City of Columbus from the Dublin Road and Morse Road plants to the homes and businesses of Upper Arlington.

SNOW REMOVAL
The City of Upper Arlington provides one of the best snow removal services in Central Ohio with the aim of returning normal driving conditions to all City streets within 24 hours of the end of a snowstorm. For operational purposes, a higher level of service and priority designation will be given first to arterial streets, then collector streets and finally residential streets. Arterials are the main thoroughfares in the City; collectors are the secondary streets as they carry traffic to the arterials.

SOLID WASTE SERVICES
The City’s Solid Waste Program is provided by Local Waste Services. It provides a simplified approach with a standard fee for service, billed twice a year. Trash, recycling, yard waste and bulk items are all collected as part of this fee. Local Waste provides all households with grey trash and blue recycling containers on wheels with lids. If a container becomes damaged, in most instances it will be repaired or replaced at no charge. The trucks used by Local Waste are energy-efficient, CNG vehicles, reducing their environmental impact on our community.

STREET SWEEPING
The Public Works Division makes it a goal to sweep the City’s 150 miles of roadways at least three times per year. It can take anywhere between five-eight weeks to sweep the entire City depending on weather conditions. This process is part of the department’s overall efforts to keep Upper Arlington streets clean of sediment, leaves and other impediments to safe traffic and to keep debris out of the storm sewers, which lead directly to our waterways.