The Department of Public Works (PW) is the only city department that actually affects every individual that lives, works, visits, or passes through the city every single day. PW is responsible for operating and maintaining all city infrastructures. From the water you use to brush your teeth to the sewers that carry away the waste water from your home; to the collection and disposal of solid waste and recycling material; to the roads, sidewalks, street lights, and traffic signals you see as you go to work, Public Works operates and maintains all these complicated and extensive systems.