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Committee backs ordinance to clarify South Bend utility service territory
Summary
Public Works presented an ordinance clarifying the city's water and sewer service territory, including the city limits and a four‑mile boundary and an established dividing line with Mishawaka; the committee voted to forward the bill to the full council with a favorable recommendation.
The Utilities Committee heard a presentation on bill 12‑26 from Public Works director Eric Horvath to update and clarify the city’s sewer and water service territory map. Horvath said the statute allows service within the city limits and up to four miles outside; the ordinance formalizes the boundary on a map and records it with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC).
He emphasized the longstanding division with Mishawaka — roughly along Logan/Hickory to the north and Grass Road to the south — and said the ordinance clarifies rights to plan and size sewer and lift‑station infrastructure. “Essentially what this ordinance does is it establishes a geographic territory in which we can provide sewer and water services and have exclusive rights to do so,” Horvath said.
The committee had no public speakers in opposition and voted to forward the ordinance to the full council with a favorable recommendation; staff offered to circulate a larger, zoomable map to committee members for review of subtle boundary clarifications.
If adopted by the full council and recorded with the IURC, the clarified service territory will guide long‑term infrastructure planning and developer guidance.
