City Utilities provides City water to all former Aqua customers on schedule
Mayor Tom Henry celebrated today the completion of providing City water service to 9,000 former Aqua Indiana north customers.
Approximately 4,000 customers, the final and largest section of the transition area, will start to receive City water today. No water service outages were expected during the transition.
The City's Water Maintenance crews made more than 20 connections in less than three months between the City's water lines and the former Aqua Indiana pipes to implement the switch to City water. The City also gained 1,700 retail sewer customers as a result of the Aqua Indiana acquisition.
“City Utilities has made a safe and nearly seamless transition for these new customers to receive better water at a lower cost,” Henry said a celebration at corner of Valley-O-Pines Parkway and Pine Mills Road in the Pine Valley subdivision. “I believe the City has exceeded the expectations for some of its newest water and sewer customers. This change has been welcomed by residents and businesses alike on Fort Wayne's north side.”
The City is adding to Aqua Indiana's previous efforts to install more fire hydrants in some of the area's older neighborhoods. Aqua installed fire hydrants in subdivisions that didn't have sufficient hydrants.
Mayor Henry flushed the first additional City-installed hydrant today to mark the continued commitment to the goal of improving fire protection facilities such as fire hydrants. The City expects to install at least 30 to 40 additional hydrants in the northern areas.
Water main flushing is planned throughout the Phase 6 area today to help clear the lines. Once the transition is made, residents and businesses in the area could experience discolored water as a result of changes in the direction of water flow within the water main system. Customers may also experience air in the lines and/or a temporary drop in water pressure. As the transition is made, City Utilities will flush the water lines by allowing fire hydrants to run for several minutes to hours. This will help to remove any deposits that may exist in the water mains.
After the City has flushed the water main systems in these areas, the City recommends that customers consider flushing their own internal water piping by letting the water run for several minutes, flushing toilets several times and allowing appliances that use water to cycle several times. Discolored water may reappear and if it does, these flushing actions may need to be repeated. For persistent problems, customers should call Fort Wayne City Utilities at 427-1234.
City utility rates went into effect for customers in the Aqua north area when the City acquired the Aqua north assets Feb. 12. As part of the transition plan, Fort Wayne City Utilities hired Aqua Indiana to continue to operate the north system for three months while customers converted to City water. The City is leasing Aqua's Cook Road headquarters back to the company until February.
A family of 4 inside the City limits using an average amount of water, 7,500 gallons a month, can expect to save about $90 per year on their water and sewer bill after the switch to City rates.