From Clean Water to Functional Streets, County Celebrates Those Who Make Modern Life Possible

Each May during National Public Works Week, Hillsborough County celebrates the hard-working people who play an integral part in the everyday lives of County residents by providing streets, water, sewers, mosquito control, traffic engineering and maintenance, public buildings, and solid waste collection and disposal.

Public Works departments

Hillsborough County Public Works consists of two departments: Capital Programs and Engineering & Operations.

The Capital Programs department oversees the project development, design, and construction of the County's Capital Improvement Program for transportation, stormwater, and facilities such as parks, libraries, and fire stations.

The Engineering & Operations department operates, maintains, manages, and engineers County roadway systems and rights of way to provide functional roads, sidewalks, and trails for safe travel. The department also manages stormwater systems to convey runoff and reduce flooding, and mosquito management to protect public health.

Public Works Week history

The American Public Works Association has sponsored National Public Works Week since 1960.

Across North America, public works professionals use this week to energize and show the public the importance of public works to their daily lives: planning, building, managing, and operating infrastructure at the heart of local communities to improve everyday quality of life.

What we do

Public Works departments work hand-in-hand with many of our other departments to serve Hillsborough County residents, businesses, and visitors.

Hillsborough County Public Works has built and maintains:

• over 7,300 traffic-lane miles, and 565 traffic signals, and 277 bridges
• 41,500 drainage structures, 1,300 miles of stormwater pipes
• 15,000 mosquito production sites

Water Resources each day supplies:

• more than 71 million gallons of drinking water
• treats 45 million gallons of wastewater, and distributes 29 million gallons of reclaimed water

Conservation & Environmental Lands Management oversees:

• 84,000 acres of park and preserve lands
• serves over 2.8 million park and preserve visitors annually

Solid Waste processed:

• over 1.1 million tons of municipal, commercial, and residential waste
• converted over 435,000 tons of solid waste to energy, generating enough energy to power up to 35,000 households

Facilities Management & Real Estate Services provides:

• planning, design, construction, operation of Hillsborough County-owned facilities
• has been certified by the national American Public Works Association (APWA) since 2014

^{This story was originally published on May 13, 2022.}