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Michigan City water superintendent outlines roughly $50.5 million bond plan and three‑year rate increase
Summary
At a Dec. 2 Michigan City Common Council workshop, Water Works Superintendent Chris Johnson presented a two‑phase $50.5 million bonding plan to replace aging mains, add a booster station and fund treatment and distribution projects; he said the utility will seek Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approval and proposed phased residential increases totaling $16.11 over 2027–29.
Chris Johnson, superintendent of the Michigan City Department of Water Works, told the Common Council at a Dec. 2 workshop that the utility will seek approval for a roughly $50.5 million, two‑phase bond package to pay for treatment, distribution and equipment projects and to replace aging water mains.
Johnson said the utility has not raised rates since 2015 and that inflation and rising input costs — including chemicals, power and construction materials — have outpaced revenue gains. "We have projects ... several million dollars worth of projects that were necessary," he said, adding later, "I hate to say it, but we have to do it." He described a capital plan developed with Westler Engineering that lists projects through 2044.
Why it matters: the water system includes about a little over 240 miles of mains with roughly 44.7 miles at least 100 years old, Johnson said, and the utility experiences recurring main breaks in older neighborhoods. The proposed work includes targeted main replacements, an east‑side booster station to address low pressure in outlying areas, some water‑quality projects and routine…
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