{"id":128276,"date":"2025-12-30T12:58:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T17:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/?p=128276"},"modified":"2025-12-31T08:25:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T13:25:34","slug":"fort-wayne-city-utilities-2025-a-year-of-remarkable-accomplishments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2025\/12\/30\/fort-wayne-city-utilities-2025-a-year-of-remarkable-accomplishments\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Wayne City Utilities 2025: A year of remarkable accomplishments"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For City Utilities, 2025 was a year of extraordinary milestones and achievements.<\/p>\n

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News release from Fort Wayne City Utilities:<\/p>\n

City Utilities 2025: A Year of Remarkable Accomplishments<\/strong>
\nA Generation of River Renewal \u2022 25 Years of Safe Water Excellence \u2022 Building System Resilience \u2022 Commitment to Customers<\/em><\/p>\n

Fort Wayne, Indiana (December 30, 2025) – For City Utilities, 2025 was a year of extraordinary milestones and achievements. The Utility earned national recognition for 25 years of excellence in safe water management and celebrated the successful completion of its 18-year Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) and federal Consent Decree\u2014one of the most complex infrastructure efforts in the community\u2019s history. City Utilities also launched new resiliency initiatives to convert methane biogas generated from waste into natural gas and continued to connect directly with residents through the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, helping them replace the lead line on their property.<\/p>\n

The core focus of each of these efforts has been strengthening essential services while protecting public health, public safety and the environment and supporting economic growth. City Utilities delivered on each of these endeavors even as it seamlessly provided customers with the high-quality services they rely on every day.<\/p>\n

Completed on schedule under federal oversight, the LTCP represents nearly two decades of sustained investment to protect neighborhoods, reduce basement backups and restore the health of Fort Wayne\u2019s rivers. As a result of this work, more than 90 percent of what was once combined sewage entering local rivers is now captured and conveyed through the Deep Rock Tunnel to the wastewater treatment plant for full treatment, significantly improving water quality in the St. Marys, St. Joseph and Maumee rivers. From 2008 to 2025, this feat marks a generation of river renewal and safeguarding neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

With the LTCP complete, City Utilities continues to build on that foundation through targeted neighborhood investments, including one that advances drinking water safety at the household level through our Lead Service Line Replacement Program.<\/p>\n

In 2025, residents in Census Tract 16, including the Harvester and East Side neighborhoods, joined City Utilities in highlighting the completion of a project that saw more than 90 percent of the homes change out their private lead lines. Likewise, Tract 9, the Hamilton neighborhood, also saw a participation rate of more than 90 percent. City Utilities secured grant funding to target low-income neighborhoods with large populations under 17 and homes built before 1937.<\/p>\n

City Utilities spent 2025 engaging residents and stakeholders through more than 50 project meetings and public meetings focused on the next 5-year phase of infrastructure investment. These discussions were centered on plans for:<\/p>\n