Mike’s Express Carwash uses a lot of water. There’s just no getting around it. So when automated systems engineer
Ryan Binkley looked for ways to conserve resources, he focused on the company’s irrigation systems.
The city too often relied on the Department of Waterworks’ board, on consultants and on the private
operator, Veolia Water, rather than on the department’s own staff “to ensure safe and efficient
operation, maintenance and management” of Indianapolis Water. That’s one of several critical
findings of a consultant hired by the department and filed as part of a 35-percent rate-hike request
pending before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
As missteps by the city’s water utility threaten to drown local ratepayers with dramatically higher bills, Mayor
Greg Ballard’s administration is exploring a complete overhaul of the system. The mayor’s initiative can’t produce results soon enough.
Officials grappling with a water utility deep in debt and a sewer infrastructure needing upwards of $2 billion in
upgrades were swamped with proposals about how to fix the mess.
The Indianapolis Department of Waterworks today unveiled a capital-improvements proposal that would raise water rates for
the average residential customer by 35 percent, or $8 a month.
Among 23 firms that have expressed interest in operating Indianapolis’ water and sewer systems is Macquarie, the Australian
firm that operates the Indiana Toll Road under a 75-year, $3.8 billion lease. In July, the city asked companies to express
interest in operating the systems.
Already swamped with higher debt costs due to a bond refinancing fiasco, the city’s Department of Waterworks is asking
the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to OK a rate hike to pay for capital projects.
Veolia Water Indianapolis, which manages the city’s water utility, has appealed an order issued by state utility regulators
that limited a major rate increase sought by the city.
Customer groups say an 18-percent rate hike sought by the Indianapolis Department of Waterworks is excessive even for a utility
drowning in variable-rate bond debt that’s swelled since financial markets collapsed.
