South Bend is again working to modernize its aging water and sewer infrastructure.
At the next common council meeting Aug. 28, Public Works Director Eric Horvath will ask the council to approve a bond issue that will pay for two projects. One will modernize the Fellows Street Pumping Station, a critical part of the system that supplies water to much of the city’s south side.
The other will help low-income residents remove lead from the water pipes that connect the city system to their homes.
The projects are part of a five-year, roughly $42 million capital plan. To pay for the work, a nearly 8 percent rate increase on water bills is being implemented in two parts – the first half of that took effect earlier this year and the rest will come early next year.
The Fellows station was built in the 1970s and still works, but Horvath says the upgrade will ensure that it will continue working in the future.
“We took council members there and they couldn’t believe it because you see pumps leaking and all sorts of stuff going on,” Horvath said. “We’re doing our best to keep things in working order but they’re definitely past their useful life.”
The bonds also would give the city more money to help residents in older homes remove lead from their water lines. Horvath noted the city does not face the same lead risk as the deadly Flint, Michigan case. That resulted from the city of Flint changing its water source. But South Bend does want to remove lead from pipes whenever possible.
