UTILITY PROFILES & RATE COMPARISONS

Water

Water resources historically have played an important role in the development of St. Joseph County, Indiana, which is located within the St. Joseph and Kankakee River basins. Access to power and processing water from the St. Joseph River supported the early metal, wood, clothing, rubber and machinery industries of South Bend and Mishawaka. The St. Joseph River starts in Michigan east of Ann Arbor and flows southwesterly into Indiana and through St. Joseph County, Indiana, turning northward to empty into Lake Michigan at St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Michigan. The southwestern half of the county drains into what eventually becomes the origins of the Kankakee River, which flows westward into Illinois and, eventually, to the Mississippi River.

Groundwater sources are the principal water supply to communities and industries in St. Joseph County, Indiana. These sources are both plentiful and of high quality. It is estimated that current daily withdrawals by all users are only 16 percent of recharge capacity, leaving a comfortable reserve for future growth.

The South Bend Water Works owns 30 deep wells with a total production capacity of 60 million gallons per day (mgd). Daily consumption requirements, including residential, commercial and industrial, average about 23 mgd. The city of Mishawaka waterworks system has 16 wells with a capacity of 23.7 mgd. The town of Walkerton also has a well-based system that serves the community as well as two industrial parks in the area. The town of New Carlisle is home to the county’s new heavy industrial area. In 1989 and 1990, a new water treatment plant was constructed in New Carlisle to supply high quality process water for the new I/N Tek cold rolled steel and I/N Kote steel coating plants. The plant has a production capacity of 6 mgd and incorporates treatment methods such as lime/soda ash softening and ion exchange for the special needs of the steel plant.

The table below provides information on monthly water rates for typical residential, commercial/light industrial and industrial users in South Bend and other midwestern communities. The table reveals that water rates in and around South Bend are fairly comparable to the cities listed below. In fact, South Bend offers comparatively lower rates for its large water users.