The Saskatchewan government declared May 20- 26 as Public Works Week and the City of Humboldt celebrated right along with them.
May 23 featured a lunch for all City of Humboldt Public Works department staff.
For the Public Works department, sometimes people do not realize the work they do until something goes wrong, says city manager Joe Day.
“A lot of people don’t appreciate the clean water coming out of their taps or the fact that they flush their toilets and drain their sinks and it all gets carried away. They don’t appreciate it until something goes wrong.”
The department prides themselves in keeping things from going wrong, says Day, and that means ensuring those systems are working properly.
With limited resources and funding, Day says the department does a great job in their many endeavours and addressing problems.
“Everything behind the scenes are working how they’re supposed to.”
For all that they contribute to their communities, Central Services Minister Ken Cheveldayoff says it is important to recognize them for their work.
“It’s important that we all recognize the role of public works in society, and how the profession has been a key contributor to our way of life,” said Cheveldayoff in a government press release. “We all depend on the infrastructure that public works professionals not only design and build, but manage and operate for all of our benefit.”
Public Works Week is organized by the Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian Public Works Association, states the press release.
“This year’s theme (The Power of Public Works) speaks to how vital public works are to improving and sustaining the quality of life for people here at home and around the world,” Saskatchewan Public Works Association President Dale
Petrun said in the press release. “Everything from the clean water we drink, to waste disposal, to our crucial transportation systems are dependent on public works and the professionals responsible for their development and operation.”
The week is celebrated also to promote public work professions as a “much-valued profession,” states the release.
