We all want a deal. We want the best for the least amount of money – in short, great value. When it comes to water, an essential for living, we want it to be safe and abundant; we want it to taste great and be there every time we turn on the tap. And we want it to cost as little as possible.

Customers of Fort Wayne City Utilities may not realize that we are one of the lowest-cost utilities in our region and across the state. But City Utilities is also proposing a water rate increase next year. Let me tell you why.

City Utilities maintains nearly 1,200 miles of underground pipes that carry water. When a pipe breaks, it is expensive to repair. It costs about $5,600 on average to repair a break involving one foot of pipe. And water main breaks are on the rise due to the age of our system and the effect of changing weather conditions. With nearly 1,000 water main breaks in the past two years, the cost of emergency repairs is sizable and growing.

In addition to being costly, water main breaks can be a threat to public safety and they’re inconvenient, especially if we have to shut off water to some homes or businesses while we make the repair. Main break repairs can also snarl traffic and damage roads.

The best way to reduce water main breaks is through a pipe replacement program, and your water utility has one. The plan uses data we’ve collected to help target areas where breaks are more likely to occur. The cost to proactively replace a foot of pipe is only between $100 and $200. By replacing pipes in a timely way, we can reduce emergency repairs, limit customer inconvenience, minimize disruptions and enhance our fire service.

We know what needs to be done. We have a plan. But we need your support to carry it out.

Industry standards suggest City Utilities should be replacing 1 percent or about 12 miles of water main each year. For several years, City Utilities’ income has stayed flat while electricity, chemicals, fuel and other fixed costs have been going up. In addition, the utility must meet the demands of unfunded federal and state mandates that place added burdens on our already-tight budget. These challenges mean we have only been able to replace a few miles of pipe per year instead of the recommended 12. Our pipes are deteriorating far faster than we can replace them with our current rates.

Water bills paid by customers are City Utilities’ only source of revenue. We’ve pinched every penny, reduced expenses, become more efficient and embraced innovation. We are a leader in every category, reducing costs by nearly $1 million annually.

In spite of all of these cost-saving measures, we’ve reached an impasse. To meet the expectations of our customers and keep our community safe requires additional resources for basic operations and to replace our failing pipes.

So, City Utilities is asking for a water rate increase. No one wants to pay more for anything, but the effect on a typical family is not so grim. A family using 5,000 gallons of water a month will see the water portion of their utility bill go up by about $4 per month in 2013 and another $3 in 2014. We’re asking for what we need to carry out a responsible maintenance and replacement plan for our water system. Reducing the amount of the increase or spreading it over additional years may be possible, but that will mean that we can expect the number of water main breaks to continue to go up.

Ignoring or postponing replacement of our leaky pipes will lead to more challenges and even higher costs in the future. You wouldn’t continue to pour fuel into a leaky gas tank in your car. Gas is too valuable and it wouldn’t be safe. Similarly, we shouldn’t continue to use a leaky pipe system to distribute water.

Even with an increase of a few dollars a month, Fort Wayne water customers will still pay among the lowest water bills in the region and the state. In fact, City Utilities water is the least expensive of any of the other utilities that you may use. City Utilities delivers the No. 1-ranked water in Indiana directly to your faucets for about $0.83 a day, or less than $0.002 per gallon.

Our water is an exceptional value. We haven’t raised our water rates in almost seven years. Plus, as a not-for-profit municipal utility, all of our revenues are reinvested right back into the system to keep it strong.

Our commitment to public health and fire protection remains firm, as does our commitment to bringing you a reliable supply of top-quality, great-tasting water for just pennies a day. We need your support to keep that promise.