For the 16 members of Swampscott’s Department Public Works (DPW) crew, no two days are the same.

DPW Director Gino Cresta likened the group’s work during the summer months to a game of whack-a-mole – when one issue is fixed, another that needs their attention quickly arises. Cresta said when the crew arrives for work early in the morning during the week, they may not even know what they’ll be doing that given day.

However, there are some constants during the summer. Three days each week, beaches in town are tended to, and trash cans are emptied along the shore and at parks.

“The typical protocol here in Swampscott is we start raking and grooming the beaches right after Memorial Day, all the way through Labor Day, three days a week,” said Cresta.

Seaweed typically washes onto the shore and builds up. Maintenance keeps the beaches as clean and sandy as possible.

“We get a lot of seaweed on the Kings and Fisherman’s, not so much on Phillips,” said Cresta. “Phillips is more just grooming the sand, freshening it up.”

On Tuesday, along with the usual tasks, the DPW crew went off around town working on a wide range of projects. Some set up on Oceanside Terrace, installing a drain manhole to remediate some flooding the street has been dealing with.

Two different teams of workers spent the day trimming trees and branches across town.

“We’ve got a tree trimming crew out there. We’ve got multiple,” said Cresta. “That seems to be our biggest concern here as residents want us to prune trees.”

Another team did the exact opposite, watering over 40 trees that were recently planted around town in recent months.

“As always, I’ve got a couple of guys up the cemetery working on burials and maintenance,” said Cresta.

Cresta credited the DPW crew for being versatile and tackling whatever jobs they are asked of.

“If something comes out and it’s a priority, guys are moving around all the time,” said Cresta. “I’m very fortunate to have a really good crew.”