Join us in celebrating our Public Works professionals during National Public Works Week, May 18 to 24.
COQUITLAM, B.C., May 15, 2025 – Do you ever wonder who’s behind the scenes when you pour a glass of water, drive down a freshly plowed street, flush your toilet or see a fire truck hooked up to a hydrant?
Coquitlam’s Public Works professionals provide these essential services and more, and we’re celebrating them during National Public Works Week, May 18 to 24. The City’s public works team works 24/7 to maintain and advance quality of life for Coquitlam businesses and residents. These dedicated crews maintain our roads, water, sewer and drainage systems, vehicles and equipment, solid waste, emergency engineering services and more.
Public Works Open House – Saturday, May 24
Join us on Saturday, May 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the new Austin Operations Building, located at 500 Mariner Way (enter off Austin Avenue), to meet the team that provides the essential services that keep our community running.
The event is new, free and family-friendly with more than 15 exhibits including:
- Equipment and vehicles – Check out the City’s crane truck, vactor truck, and pipe camera van - kids can enjoy an insider's view and sit inside.
- Environmental education – Learn how you can help keep our streams and creeks clean, and our urban wildlife safe.
- In-house dispatch centre – See inside the 24/7 utility control centre where staff manage infrastructure work across the City as well as public works emergencies.
- Parks equipment road show – See the cool equipment that keeps everything running smoothly, then have a blast playing with a variety of lawn games found in our outdoor park spaces.
- Animal shelter display – Learn about the City’s Animal Shelter and spin the prize wheel.
- Kids’ activities – Gear up for a behind-the-scenes look at the equipment that powers Sports Services’ daily operations, visit the colouring station and more.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Details at coquitlam.ca/PublicWorks.
Public Works in Action
In 2024, the Public Works team:
- Handled 10,380 service requests and work orders
- Cleaned 80 km of water mains and 40 km of sanitary sewers
- Swept 6,600 km of roads
- Maintained 1,622 km of pipe and 74 facilities
- Provided 300 litres of total water per capita each day
- Managed biweekly garbage and weekly organics pickup from over 25,500 homes
- Diverted 69% of household waste from the landfill through recycling and organic waste programs
The City’s road, drainage and water systems stretch thousands of kilometres and contain a variety of elements that Public Works monitors and maintains, including:
- 1,145 lane km of asphalt and 603 km of sidewalk
- Over 577 km of storm water mains/culverts and 3.2 km of dike maintained by the City
- Over 523 km of water mains, 2,815 hydrants, 6,631 valves, 10 reservoirs, 1,220 institutional and commercial water meters, 11 water pump stations, 27,726 water service connections and 49 pressure-regulating chambers
For more information about Public Works, visit coquitlam.ca/PublicWorks.
Media contact
Inder Tung
Manager, Public Works Services
604-927-3500
epw@coquitlam.ca
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.