The following is a release from The Allen County Regional Water and Sewer District:

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. — Recent efforts by The Allen County Sewer District and City of Fort Wayne bring public health protection and environmental improvements to households throughout Allen County. On May 1, 2017, the District hosted a ‘ground breaking ceremony’ at one of their latest project construction sites. The event, held at a newly proposed sanitary sewer lift station located at 12105 Leo Rd, offered an opportunity for the Sewer District, City of Fort Wayne, and residents of the neighborhoods off of Tonkel and Popp roads to celebrate progress for their community. This round of new construction will bring sanitary sewer service to the Tonkel Road, Popp Road road area as well as more than two hundred homes county-wide in neighborhoods in unincorporated areas of Allen County.

Similar septic system relief efforts in past years combined with this 2017 set of projects now total more than one thousand homes county-wide. Projects in the Community of Poe will provide sewer service to dozens of homes along the vulnerable St. Mary’s River. A neighborhood near Carroll and Hand roads in northern Allen County includes up to twenty-five homes near Huntertown. Several neighborhoods near Leo-Cedarville are getting much needed septic system relief to more than sixty homes. Other initiated project areas include the Pion road area near Coldwater Road and an area near the intersection of Union Chapel and Lynnbrook Road.

Outdated septic systems can pollute streams, ditches, nearby surface water bodies and groundwater with either untreated or undertreated sewage and create public health and environmental problems. These older septic systems are also often not in compliance with the current standards. Expensive updates and replacement septic systems have size and technology limitations and their effectiveness is limited.

Department Administrator with the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health, Mindy Waldron, commented on the ACRWSD work.

“Throughout Allen County, there are, unfortunately, thousands of onsite septic systems that are no longer compliant or functional which leads to public health concerns. The pollution resulting from these failing systems can lead to the spread of disease. Through the efforts of the Allen County Regional Water & Sewer District and their continuous efforts to provide sanitary sewer service to some of these affected areas, they are assisting us in eliminating these potential risks to the citizens of Allen County, one project at a time.”

The District, in collaboration with the City of Fort Wayne and other partners, works to provide utility service to unincorporated areas of Allen County that are not served by other utility providers such as Fort Wayne, New Haven, Woodburn, Grabill, Monroeville, Leo-Cedarville or Aqua Indiana. The District provides service to almost 3,000 customers throughout Allen County and is the fastest growing sanitary sewer service provider in the area.