News You Can Use

Help Prevent Mercury Pollution

Mercury is highly toxic, but it is found in common household items. Fever thermometers with silver liquid, batteries, old thermostats, even compact fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury. A very small amount of spilled mercury or a broken bulb can cause widespread contamination. It is essential to identify mercury-containing items and dispose of them properly. Visit www.aswastewatcher.org or utilities.cityoffortwayne.org/mercury-pollution for more information.

Protect Our Rivers by Reporting Pollution

Did you know anything that goes into a storm drain ends up in a pond or one of our rivers without receiving any kind of treatment? Storm drains and storm sewers discharge directly to water bodies. If you see anything other than rain water going into a storm drain, or being dumped into a river or stream, please call 311 to report it. City Utilities will investigate, take steps to find the pollution source and make sure it is cleaned up.

Environmentally Friendly Landscaping

Some of the rain water that falls on your property will go to a pond or river taking with it many of the things it touches. Help protect stormwater quality starting in your yard: When you mow skip bagging and leave clippings on the lawn. Compost yard waste instead of putting it in the trash. Have your soil tested then use only the type and amount of fertilizer you need. Learn more about green landscaping at utilities.cityoffortwayne.org/green-landscaping.

Avoid Excessive Salt Application

Applying deicer to icy surfaces is a great way to melt the ice and maintain a safe surface for anyone walking on a sidewalk or driveway. However, excessive application can have some harmful environmental impacts. To properly use deicer, follow the manufacturer directions on the package. Deicer is not intended to melt large quantities of snow or ice. Large layers will still need to be shoveled off the sidewalk or driveway. Excessive applications can corrode concrete, hurt pets’ paws, burn vegetation, and even make its way to the nearest waterway once the ice is melted. Together, we can keep our water fresh and not salty!

Prepare your Pipes this Winter

Pipes that are vulnerable to freezing are located in uninsulated spaces such as crawl spaces, basements, attics, garages, or in exterior walls. Here are some tips to keep those pipes from freezing: insulate pipes with foam insulation or electrical heating tape. If those are not an option, let lukewarm water run during very cold weather. For sinks against outside walls, it may also help to open cabinet doors below the sink so warm air can circulate.

Protecting your Water Meter

Residents are responsible for making sure their water meter is protected from the cold weather. If the meter is in an unheated garage, keep the garage door closed to hold in as much heat as possible. Protect the meter in a basement or crawl space by closing off crawl space vents and doors, repairing broken windows, and making sure basement doors and windows close tightly. You might also consider installing an insulated meter cover. Customers may be charged more than $130 for replacing frozen meters.

Winterizing Irrigation Systems

If you have an irrigation system and your backflow preventer is located outdoors, remember to either blow it out or remove and store it someplace warm for the winter. You may cover it with a blanket, towels, or similar temporarily. Insulation and/or heat tape may also be used, but would be insufficient protection for the winter. Allowing it to freeze is a costly mistake. For more information visit utilities.cityoffortwayne.org/backflow-prevention.

Your Ditch is NOT Your Dump

When grass clippings and leaf debris is dumped into drainage ditches they not only add excess nutrients to those water bodies, they can also cause flooding due to the restricted waterway. Alternative disposal methods would be:

• Use mulching cycle on lawnmowers.
• Compost at home.
• Take yard waste, including lawn clippings, tree limbs, and leaves to Biosoilds located at 6202 Lake Avenue.

Cease the Grease

Just like in human hearts, fats, oils, and grease (FOG) can cause serious damage to sewer lines. This can increase the rates of sewer overflows and backups. To keep the sewer lines clear and protect our environment, never pour grease down the drain or toilet. Wiping grease away from cooking utensils and disposing of grease in the trash is a simple way of keeping grease out of the drain. Do your part to cease the grease.

Remember It’s a Toilet Not a Trash Can!

Your toilet is intended for just one activity and you know what we mean. Flushing the wrong things can clog pipes and damage plumbing. It can cause sewage to back up into your home or clog the public sewer system. The cost to clean clogged sewers is paid for by customers through sewer rates. So remember: items such as wipes, diapers, latex gloves, condoms, and feminine hygiene products should be disposed of in the trash, not the toilet.

Environmentally Friendly Landscaping

Some of the rain water that falls on your property will go to a pond or river taking with it many of the things it touches. Help protect stormwater quality starting in your yard: When you mow skip bagging and leave clippings on the lawn. Compost yard waste instead of putting it in the trash. Have your soil tested then use only the type and amount of fertilizer you need. Learn more about green landscaping at utilities.cityoffortwayne.org/ways-you-can-help.

Note:

1. If we do not receive your payment by the due date, your bill is past due and your account is delinquent. Delinquent accounts will be assessed a late fee in accordance with the Fort Wayne Water Utility General Rules and Regulations.
2. Your water service can be disconnected when your bill payment is past due. If your service has been disconnected, you will need to contact us to schedule a time to turn your water back on after you have paid the total amount that you owe. There may be additional fees for re-connecting service.
3. You can appeal the current charges on your bill. Do this by asking for an Administrative Appeal Hearing, which is described in the Fort Wayne Water Utility General Rules and Regulations. Your request for the hearing must be made in writing and must describe the reason for your appeal. The request must be received by our office on or before the due date of the bill that you are disputing. Please send your request to: Customer Support Manager, 200 E. Berry St., Suite 130, Fort Wayne, IN 46802, or email to crc@cityoffortwayne.org.

Further billing will not cancel this notice!

If you receive another bill from City Utilities, it does not mean that your disconnection has been stopped.

If someone in your home has a serious illness…

City Utilities will delay disconnection of your water service if you provide us with an approved medical statement from a licensed physician before the due date on this notice. The doctor’s statement must show that water service disconnection will be a serious and immediate threat to the health and safety of a person living in your household. Within 10 days of this notification, you must sign an agreement to pay the rest of this bill.

City Utilities reserves and preserves all of its claims, rights, remedies, defenses and causes of actions against all parties.