High-tech listening equipment will allow workers to find small leaks in Fort Wayne’s water system over the next month, possibly allowing the city to prevent broken water mains.
Starting Monday, contractor M.E. Simpson will roam southwest Fort Wayne neighborhoods, attaching listening devices to fire hydrants or water main valves to find leaks in city-owned pipes, City Utilities spokeswoman Mary Jane Slaton said in a statement. Many small leaks are too small to see but can be detected by listening through a wire, she said.
The Fort Wayne Board of Public Works on Wednesday agreed to pay M.E. Simpson $41,285 for the work, which comes as the third phase of a four-part study City Utilities began two years ago.
Crews will be working for about a month in neighborhoods south of Washington Center Road and west of the St. Joseph’s and St. Marys rivers, according to the statement.
