Free guided tours of the award-winning Three Rivers Water Filtration Plant are open to all on Thursday, July 16 from 2 to 5 p.m. Residents should enter the plant at 500 Baltes Avenue – just over the Lafayette/Spy Run bridge and across from the Old Fort. Tours will last about 30 minutes. The last tour will begin at 4:30 p.m.

The plant serves more than 300,000 people in Fort Wayne and surrounding areas.

Last month, the plant won the prestigious 15-Year Directors Award, presented by the Partnership for Safe Water. The award recognizes high-quality water production and optimization of plant treatment operations and was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA). Fewer than 1 percent of the 11,500 surface water treatment plants in our nation have received the recognition.

5 Things to Know

1. In the 1800s, the City’s water supply came from wells, but in the late 1920s, acute water shortages occurred and the City planned a new water system and found its supply on the St. Joseph River.

2. Built in the Collegiate Gothic architectural style, the Three Rivers Water Filtration Plant opened in 1933 and is constructed with Indiana limestone.

3. Many of the insets in the design of the building depict people from various time periods and cultures using water infrastructure or carrying it in vessels.

4. As the City has grown – the plant has expanded twice and water production capacity has grown from 24 to 74 million gallons per day.

5. The most recent addition to the plant is the ultraviolet disinfection system completed in 2014. The $21 million investment meets new Federal mandates and provides an additional layer of disinfection.