March 05, 2008

The American Public Works Association recently awarded the 2008 Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award to Westchester County’s Department of Public Works, Road Maintenance Division.  
  
 The award is presented yearly to communities nationwide that have met certain highway deicing criteria and have provided supporting data based on the following six categories: materials/handling, equipment, training, community outreach, and technical and environmental issues.

 Some of the initiatives taken include the installation of a salt brine-making facility at the DPW Road Maintenance garage in White Plains, which together with a new additional storage tank, has increased its production capability to 1,500 gallons of salt brine in about 20 minutes.

 In addition to the salt brine facility, improvement and upgrades were made to existing equipment, such as removable salt brine application system and the latest computer control system allowing the driver to monitor the amount of gallons being applied per lane mile.

 The APWA’s Excellence in Snow and Ice Control award was established to promote excellence in the management and administration of public works snow and ice operations, to promote the best practices in snow and ice removal while minimizing environmental impacts.