Citizens employees responded well to two sewer system failures that occurred in July, including completion of a rapid condition assessment of our underground infrastructure in downtown Indianapolis.
During the inspection of 459 manholes and 500 sewer segments in the Mile Square downtown area, no urgent repairs were identified, although crews did locate four manholes and two pipe segments that needed minor repairs.
At a public hearing held August 24, Citizens leaders reported the results of the inspection to the IURC. The agency praised Citizens for working 24/7 and quickly making necessary repairs to these two high-profile downtown locations. Mark Jacob, Vice President, Capital Programs and Engineering/Quality, shared that in addition to our regular 10-year inspection cycle for the entire sewer system, Citizens now will begin assessing the downtown system every 5 years, given that much of the system in that area is more than 100 years old.
Jeff Willman, Vice President, Water Operations, provided data at the hearing, explaining how Citizens’ average annual investment of $15-20 million has allowed for the rehabilitation of about 80 miles of sewer lines across the city since acquiring the utility in 2011. In that time, the number of sewer failures has dropped by more than 30 percent.
At the hearing and in a letter to community leaders, Jeffrey Harrison, President and CEO, referring to the reduction in sewer failures over the last seven years, wrote, “Although we are pleased with this progress, we know it will require decades of steady investments to fully update our aging wastewater and water systems.”
