PUBLIC WORKS
Watseka Public Works
230 W North Street, Watseka, Illinois 60970
Phone
1-815-432-4285
Director – Loren Grosvenor
The CIty of Watseka Public Works Facility is located at 230 West North St. Besides the Director there are seven full time employees and one part time employee. The Public Works Department is for the maintenance, repair, and upgrading of the CIty owned utilities and properties. This includes the streets, sidewalks, parks, public buildings, swimming pool, parking lots, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, and yard waste facility. The City owned water system and wastewater treatment plan are managed by ERH Enterprises.
Contacting Us: The normal hours of the Public Works Department are 7:00a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can contact the maintenance building at 815-432-4285. If you have an afterhours non-life threatening emergency such as a sewer blockage, downed tree, or water main break please call the ICOM dispatch center at 815-432-7224.
Billing: The Public Works Department does not handle the sewer, water, or garbage billing. If you have questions regarding your bill, call City Hall at 815-432-2017.
Sewers: If you are experiencing a santiary sewer problem at your location during our normal working hours call the maintenance building at 815-432-4285. If there is no answer there, call CIty Hall at 815-432-2017 and they will contact us. When calling about the sewer problem include all necessary information such as the description of the problem, the address and a contact phone number. We will also need to know if there is a sewer clean-out between the house and the street. If possible mark the location so the employees can find.
Water: To report problems with water pressure or the quality of the drinking water you can call ERH Enterprises at 217-267-2331 or CIty Hall at 815-432-2017.
Streets: The Public Works Department maintains the streets and sidewalks. Our street sweeper runs on an as-needed basis. If you notice any storm inlets that are blocked or debris on the street call and we will try to address it. Sidewalks are repaired and potholes are patched throughout the CIty two or three times a year. If there is a broken sidewalk or a pothole that we miss, call and we will add it to our list. It is against CIty Ordinance to rake or blow grass clipping, leaves, or branches onto a City street and is punishable by a citation and a fine. Since a majority of the City sewers are combination sewers this debris gets into the sewer system and causes a blockages.
The snowplows also run on an as-needed basis. City Ordinance requires all vehicles to be moved off of City streets after a 3″ or more snowfall. The vehicles should stay off the streets until snowplows have cleared the street. We try to keep the streets as safe and passable as we can, however due to the cost of road salt we will be rationing the amount of salt that we will be putting down. Please travel streets with caution during icy conditions.
Working on CIty right of way: Any work done on CIty right of way must be authorized by the Public Works Director. This includes, but is not limited to, planting or removing trees, sidewalk or driveway construction, irrigation systems, sign placement, or utility work. Any underground work will also need to have a J.U.L.I.E. locate called in.
Yard Waste: The City operates a Yard Waste Facility located at the south end of South Second St. by the railroad. This facility is for City residents only and is for yard waste such as grass clippings, leaves, branches, and organic landscaping materials. No other items will be accepted. The hours of operation area as follows:
March thru September
Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
October
Tuesday thru Friday 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
November
Tuesday thru Friday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
December
Saturday 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday 12::00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
January and February closed.
Reopen 1st Weekend after March 15th.
The facility is closed on all holidays.
All containers used for transporting yard waste must be emptied and taken away with you except for bio-degradable paper bags which can be purchased at local stores for the specific use of hauling lawn waste. The Public Works Department does not pick up tree branches except in the case of a severe wind or ice storm where there is citywide damage.