News release from the City of Fort Wayne:
Three Rivers Water Filtration Plant Tours
Five Things You Should Know
(July 15, 2015) – Free guided tours of the award-winning Three Rivers Water Filtration Plant are open to all on Thursday, July 16 from 2 to 5 p.m. Residents should enter the plant at 500 Baltes Avenue – just over the Lafayette/Spy Run bridge and across from the Old Fort. Tours will last about 30 minutes. The last tour will begin at 4:30 p.m.
The plant serves more than 300,000 people in Fort Wayne and surrounding areas.
Last month, the plant won the prestigious 15-Year Directors Award, presented by the Partnership for Safe Water. The award recognizes high-quality water production and optimization of plant treatment operations and was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA). Fewer than 1 percent of the 11,500 surface water treatment plants in our nation have received the recognition.
5 Things to Know
- In the 1800s, the City’s water supply came from wells, but in the late 1920s, acute water shortages occurred and the City planned a new water system and found its supply on the St. Joseph River.
- Built in the Collegiate Gothic architectural style, the Three Rivers Water Filtration Plant opened in 1933 and is constructed with Indiana limestone.
- Many of the insets in the design of the building depict people from various time periods and cultures using water infrastructure or carrying it in vessels.
- As the City has grown – the plant has expanded twice and water production capacity has grown from 24 to 74 million gallons per day.
- The most recent addition to the plant is the ultraviolet disinfection system completed in 2014. The $21 million investment meets new Federal mandates and provides an additional layer of disinfection.
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