City Utilities efforts reliability, efficiency and security
Essential modernization to the Fort Wayne's Water Treatment Facility and the St. Joe Dam is on target for completion.
Already completed at the downtown Water Treatment Facility is the new electrical building and an emergency generator to ensure water delivery even if there is a power outage. It's critical to the security of our city and our water supply.
“We have to make sure citizens have water and that we can provide adequate pressure for the Fire Department if there is a power outage. It's irresponsible and endangers our infrastructure security to not have a back-up source,” said Mayor Tom Henry.
Replacing electrical systems and upgrading mechanical equipment will help City Utilities meet modern demands and support the needs of the future. The $2.5 million Filter Valve Replacement Project is important to water purification at the Water Filtration Plant. Filter valves control the way water moves through the filtering system, which is the last step in the water purification process.
It is on target for completion in January of 2009.
“We are using filter valves that are outdated. Operation of the existing valves has become increasingly problematic in recent years because repairs became more frequent. The new valves will be more efficient and more reliable, said Mark Gensic, Manager of Planning and Design.
A vital project that's about 50% complete at this point is the $13.5 million dollar North Pump Building. The building will house high service pumps that can pump up to 48 million gallons per day and meet our peek needs. It replaces aging equipment built in 1930. The pumps will send water to all parts of the City and are critical to maintaining water pressure.
“Capacity and reliability will greatly improve with the new pumps. It ensures that we can meet the needs of the community for many years to come,” said Matthew Wirtz, Deputy Director of Engineering.
As construction continues at the North Pump Building, maintenance will be performed on the underground reservoir. A specialty company that cleans reservoirs will be brought in to clean the bottom of our reservoir using a robotic vacuum. The process should take about three weeks and will begin next Monday. It's an essential procedure for completing the construction and connection of the high service pumps.
The North Pump Project is on deadline to finish in the summer of 2010.
Away from the Water Filtration Plant, at the St. Joe Dam, work continues on a new electrical system with a backup generator and the addition of two pumps. The pumps replace aging equipment and make the process at the dam more efficient and reliable. The project is about 75% complete and will meet its target date of March of 2009.
Customers made these improvements possible through the rate increase in 2006. Utility rates are the only way City Utilities has to fund essential improvements to the water system infrastructure.
“We take customer trust seriously and are committed to improving the efficiency of our operation. We use our revenues efficiently and we understand that rate increases can be burdensome. That's why we only come to ratepayers to request an increase when we absolutely need to ask for them to improve service or to meet federal mandates,” said Kumar Menon, Director of City Utilities.
These projects total nearly $24.5 million. Of that, more than $18 million is staying in the community through the hiring of local contractors.
“I'm always thrilled when we can build essentially needed upgrades to our water system that not only improve services but at the same time are able to give a boost to the local economy," said Mayor Henry.