Surface Water & Sanitary Sewer - Sanitary Sewer
Mission statement
To be effective stewards of the public infrastructure, and provide valued city services that contributes to public safety, economic vitality and neighborhood livability in Minneapolis.
Our people
Programs and divisions
Purpose and context
The Sanitary Sewer program meets regulatory requirements while collecting sanitary flow data within the City of Minneapolis for Metropolitan Council Environmental Service (MCES) treatment and discharge to the Mississippi River. Maintaining system flow is critical in minimizing the risk of sanitary backups and combined sewer overflows to the Mississippi River. All Minneapolis residents and visitors benefit from the function of this critical infrastructure and its role in protecting human health and the environment.
Services provided
Activities in this program include the design and analysis of the sanitary system for self-cleaning velocity in pipes and identifying sources of clear water. Development review is performed to ensure compliance with city ordinance. The program also includes daily cleaning and operation of the system as well as emergency responses and payments to MCES for the treatment of the sanitary discharge.
Race equity impacts
Maintaining system flow is critical to minimizing the risk of sanitary backups and combined sewer overflows to the Mississippi River. Sanitary system cleaning, operation and design activities are driven by data collected on system needs. Using data to define these activities reduces the potential for bias and results in a more equitable service level across the city. Educational materials related to the reduction of food service establishments’ fats, oils and grease entering the sanitary system have been translated into multiple languages, in an effort to increase compliance and reduce the eventual likelihood of fines. A main expense associated with this program is personal and fringe benefits.
Training: Racial Equity Training is administered in a traditional format: Time-certain events 8-5, M-F in downtown Minneapolis. This system which HR and many trainers prefer does not meet the needs of field staff schedules. Field staff are less likely to be trained on Racial Equity topics like unconscious bias. Additionally there is little room built into field staff schedules and budgets for training; part of this is due to the flexibility needed for seasonal work that can be affected by weather. Part of this may be historical perspective of field work being different from training, which is an “extra.” It would be helpful if the city mandated on-going racial equity training for all employees and provided a digital option for employees to participate. This would clarify expectations and provide flexibility for field staff and managers to schedule training around complicated seasonal schedules.
Procurement: Staff are often limited to using state contracts or low bids when procuring parts and supplies. This system saves the city time and money, and at the same time restricts staff’s ability to seek out new vendors who may be BIPOC. There are established companies in niche areas that have secured government contracts and have an established supply chain to meet the city’s needs that may prohibit vendor diversity.
Hiring & Retention: Existing pipelines for recruitment and hiring lead to a predominantly white, male workforce. Public Works has devoted resources to diversify staff. While the department has made inroads, there is much work to be done especially in reaching younger people who have not yet decided on a career path. Also, new hires are most vulnerable to layoffs during times of financial hardship such as the pandemic. Union negotiated contracts drive this layoff process and is out of staff control.
Targeted Outreach: Need to communicate better to BIPOC communities about a) what PW does and b) to build stronger partnerships so PW can meet community needs.
Staff time to change programs: Staff would like to address parts of the business model that may disproportionally affect low income, BIPOC communities. More work is needed to analyze the current program, collect feedback by listening to communities, and to think creatively about changes that maintain already high service levels while addressing gaps due to Racial Inequities.
Continue and Expand partnerships with SMEs: Continue and grow partnerships with internal (NCR, TPP) and external (Urban Scholars, Step-Up internships) stakeholders who have expertise with Racial Equity. Provide additional training to staff.
Staff will develop an engagement plan that is informed by U of M research/data collection and analysis.