Water companies thrive on summer's dry times.

Byline: Cindy Larson

Jun. 28--The recent dry weather means good business for local utilities.

"We're selling more water," said Greg Meszaros, director of Public Works and City Utilities. Most of that is because of increased lawn watering. City Utilities supplies most of the water for residents and businesses.

"Water consumption is up, but we're still well within what we can manage," said Bill Etzler, Aqua Indiana's regional manager. Aqua Indiana is a private utility that serves customers in northwest Fort Wayne and in the western part of the city.

The area would have to be in the grip of an extended, significant drought before the city's water supply would be affected, Meszaros said. In the 1988 drought, the city didn't have to put any restrictions on water use, although it was just days away from restricting lawn watering when rain finally came.

"1988 was our all time high in water usage," Meszaros said.

The city's drinking water comes from the St. Joseph River, where an intake is located near the St. Joe Dam. Water is piped downtown to the filtration plant, where it's treated and than piped to homes and businesses.