Page last updated September 9, 2024
City Utilities is making the most significant investment in the history of our sewer system: a five-mile-long deep rock tunnel that will connect to neighborhoods with drop shafts and consolidation sewers to reduce combined sewer overflows from our rivers significantly.
The last phase of the work is to protect the St. Marys River and nearby neighborhoods. Work through the park and near Hartman Road begins this week.
We are now in the final three connecting projects to protect the Foster Park neighborhoods and connect to the tunnel. Work to construct a 72-inch sewer pipe and diversion structures through Foster Park and near Hartman Road began in November 2023.
The relief sewer will pull combined sewage from surrounding neighborhoods and transport the flow to the deep-rock sewer tunnel. This project will keep more than 25 million gallons of combined sewage out of the St. Mary’s River each year once it is completed and connected to the tunnel.
Contact
Ron Sheppard
Construction Manager
Construction is underway in Foster Park near Hartman Road. Crews will be moving to begin construction near the entrance of Foster Park on Old Mill Road.
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Stone paths and a portion of Hartman Road are in place to keep the trail open. Residents should refer to the trail signage posted along Hartman.
Lane restrictions:
Hartman between Westover Road and West Sherwood Terrace is closed for southbound vehicle traffic. During construction, the southbound lane is for walkers, runners, and bicyclists as part of the trail.
What will the project entail?
The 72″ sanitary sewer pipes will help convey CSO flows from the St. Mary’s River to the Three Rivers Port Overflow Reduction Tunnel. The relief will help overflow from impacting the Foster Park golf course near the intersection of Westover Drive and Hartman Road.
This project will keep more than 20 million gallons of combined sewage out of the St. Mary’s River each year once it is completed.
What are CSOs?
In a combined sewer system, wastewater and stormwater flow through the same pipes. The combination of both flows can overwhelm the combined sewage system causing an outfall into nearby waterbodies. These outfalls are called CSOs.
CSOs are a major pollution and public health concern since they can contain bacteria and other toxic substances. They pose a danger to people, pets, and plants.
City Utilities, in compliance with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, has implemented a combined sewer outflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plan to reduce the volume of combined sewage that is discharged into the waterways within the City of Fort Wayne.
Three Rivers Protection & Overflow Reduction Tunnel (3RPORT)
Part of City Utilities’ Tunnel Works program, the 3RPORT will collect and transport sewage from locations where Fort Wayne’s combined sewer system might overflow during wet weather to the sewage treatment plant. The completion of the Tunnel Works program, expected in 2025, will reduce combined sewage overflows to St. Marys and Maumee Rivers by 90%, from about 71 times in a typical year, to just four.