Mishawaka dedicates water treatment plant, wellfield as part of $63 million in upgrades

MISHAWAKA — After 12 years and $63 million in investments, city leaders believe that Mishawaka is now well-positioned for the future when it comes to the city's water needs after the recent dedication of its new Juday Creek water treatment plant and wellfield on Veterans Parkway north of Douglas Road.

David Majewski, water division manager for Mishawaka Utilities, called the $40 million, 26,000-square-foot water treatment plant the centerpiece of recent work. However, he said the city utility also was celebrating:

■ The completion of the 1.5-million-gallon water tower off of Gumwood Road, north of Cleveland Road.

■ The 2-million-gallon water reservoir on Ireland Trail, which was a rehabilitation of a 3-million-gallon older reservoir.

The three projects and other work over the past 12 years have cost $63 million.

"We're actually getting three ribbon cuttings for the price of one," Majewski said. "We have positioned our water utility to be strong for decades to come."

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Mayor Dave Wood said Mishawaka provides clean, safe water for residents through the city's not-for-profit utility.

The need for safe, abundant water has only grown to the city's north side. Large users, such as the economic development along Grape Road and Main Street, have also been joined by places such as St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.

Moreover, more growth is expected via a potential extension of city utilities to sites for a proposed new Gurley Leep Automotive Group auto mall at Cleveland Road and Capital Avenue and a potential data center just east of it on the St. Joe Farm property.

"You look anywhere around the country, you'll find in every region, there are communities that cannot provide clean, safe water for their residents," Wood said. "Mishawaka is blessed to have long, long-term water security, and this is a strategic advantage for the city of Mishawaka."

Wood said the city knew 12 years ago it needed a third water treatment plant, because the needs of the city required both existing facilities to run without going off-line for maintenance and repairs.

By the numbers

■ 105: The number of school buses that can fit inside the new water treatment plant on Veterans Parkway.

■ 12,500,000: the number of gallons of water than runs through the water treatment plant per day.

■ 21: the number of Olympic-sized pools that would be filled each day with the amount of water that passes through the water treatment plant.

■ 50: the number of yards the four pressure filters would be if they were laid end-to-end.

■ 3: the number of times you would have to stack the Gumwood water tower on itself to equal the height of the Willis Tower in Chicago.

■ 300,000: the number of 5-gallon buckets the water in the Gumwood water tower would fill if it were poured out.

■ 50: the percentage of the amount of water that is provided to the city from the Ireland Trail reservoir each day.

Email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at gswiercz@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Wellfield, water treatment plant opens for Mishawaka's north side