As Dowagiac’s foliage transforms from luscious green to robust auburn, crews with the city’s department of public services are preparing for the beginning of another season of fall cleanup.

The city will wind down another season of residential brush removal services on Oct. 30, as road crews prep for upcoming home leaf pickup service. From now until that date, residents can call city hall to request that public services remove collected grass clippings, brush, branches and leaves from their lawns. Past that date, residents must dispose of these materials at the city compost site, which will be open through Nov. 30.

The brush removal program, which begins every April, typically winds down at the end of October, as road crews are usually tied up removing leaves from city residences, said Sue Watson, who is with the department of public services.

“In the fall, we are prone to having storms and high winds,” Watson said. “If we have a storm that knocks down a bunch of tree branches, I’m sure we would have another brush pickup.”

In the coming weeks, the department expects to begin its leaf removal program, with crews traveling from household to household picking up leaves left on the curbside by residents. The program typically runs from October through November, depending on when the leaves begin to fall en masse, Watson said.

In order to be picked up for disposal, leaves must be raked into piles left within 6 to 8 inches of the curb, but not actually on the street or curb line.

“If [residents] place them onto the curb line and they get into the streets, they could get into storm drains and cause lots of issues,” Watson said.

While the pickup program is in place, residents are asked to not park on city streets from the hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., as doing so may interfere with collection efforts, Watson said.

“If there’s a car parked in front of leaf pile, and we cannot get by it, that pile will not be picked up,” she said.

Piles containing brush, limbs, intermingled trash, garbage, litter, or fecal matter will not be removed. Leaves must be raked out in advance of the crews and equipment.

Until the city announces the start of its leaf collection efforts, residents can request leaf pickups by calling public works at (269) 782-8200. Materials must be placed curbside prior to 7 a.m. each Monday.