Elkhart officials celebrated the completion of the city’s expanded wastewater treatment plant with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday. After more than a decade of work, the upgraded facility is now capable of treating 60 million gallons of wastewater per day, significantly reducing pollution in local rivers.
The expansion, which took 11 years to complete, is expected to prevent millions of gallons of untreated sewage from entering the Saint Joseph and Elkhart rivers during rain events.
“This was a big project for us,” said Tory Irwin, Director of Public Works. “We’re really happy that it’s done.”
Irwin noted that the plant had to remain operational throughout the construction process, a challenge that required careful planning to avoid discharges of untreated sewage into the rivers. “It was a huge challenge,” he said.
The upgraded plant includes advanced filtration technology, positioning Elkhart as one of only a few cities in Indiana to implement the state-of-the-art system. This technology is expected to improve the health of the Saint Joseph and Elkhart rivers, enhancing water quality for both residents and wildlife.
Danagh Deegan, Elkhart's Water Quality Manager, emphasized that the full benefits of the project may take years to become evident. “It’s going to take time,” he said. “I look at animals to tell me about the health of the water, and after several years, we might start to see some improvements.”
Deegan added that the upgrades will help clean pollutants from the rivers, providing a healthier habitat for wildlife. “For some of the fish species, having clean water is essential,” he said. “By cleaning up this water, we’ll be able to bolster the populations of endangered species and bring them back to a point where they’re not endangered anymore.”
Deegan noted that the rivers have already shown signs of environmental improvement over the past decade, and the plant’s expansion will continue this positive trend.
