Senator Long responds to Aqua report

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) State Senator David Long still has plenty of concerns regarding Aqua Indiana's water service to its customers inAboite Township following a report issued last week by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission .(IURC). 

In its report, the IURC gave Aqua the permission to disconnect from the City of Fort Wayne's water supply.  The IURC had ordered Aqua to connect as a result of a drop in water pressure in June of 2012.  However in its report the IURC indicated that the hookup created a potential fire hazard in the isolated area where Aqua customers were receiving Fort Wayne water because the lone connection might not be able to supply enough water without dropping water pressure to the point where a boil water order would have to be issued..  Senator Long believes that problem must be resolved if it becomes necessary for Aqua to reconnect with Fort Wayne water next summer.  

See the notice Aqua Indiana sent to customers on Oct. 19

Long had three other main concerns regarding the IURC report: 

• Aqua Indiana does not appear to have a sufficient supply of water to deal with the needs of the Aboite area. Aboite is a modern, growing suburban area. I will ask the IURC to maintain a vigilant, ongoing oversight of Aqua’s system to ensure that this utility invests the necessary money to fix this problem. Drilling more wells? Selling its water system to the city of Ft. Wayne? Whatever the ultimate answer, Aqua will, in my opinion, need public scrutiny and the power of the IURC to make certain that it follows through with the necessary improvements.
• Aqua clearly has water pressure issues. Whatever the solution is (a new water tower, new pumps, etc.), the IURC needs to ride hard on this problem as well. The citizens of Aboite need to know that their water supply is adequate, safe and sufficient. This isn’t just a quality of life issue; this is a public safety issue.
• Finally, Aqua’s Aboite customers have suffered from significant rate increases in recent years, without a corresponding improvement in service. Whatever improvements are ordered by the IURC to be made, those improvements should be on the utility’s nickel, and the customers should not have to pay for them.

“I look forward to the special investigator’s Phase II findings and to a resolution of Aqua Indiana’s continuing water supply and water pressure issues. I plan to remain involved and engaged throughout the next year as this matter plays out, and I encourage all of Aboite’s Aqua Indiana customers to do the same,.”  said Senator Long in his statement.