Mrvan delivers nearly $1M in federal funds for LaPorte sewer separation project

Federal funding secured by U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, will enable the city of LaPorte to improve water quality and public safety by separating more of its sanitary sewer and storm sewer flow.

The two-term Northwest Indiana congressman earmarked $959,000 for the LaPorte sewer project in the 2024 federal spending measures approved by Congress and enacted by the president in March.

The LaPorte project will cover Indiana Avenue from Lincolnway to Kingsbury Avenue and separate approximately 30% of the city's combined sewer areas — reducing the number of combined sewer overflow events and basement backups in nearby homes and businesses.

The sewer work is scheduled to begin this fall in tandem with the reconstruction of Indiana Avenue/U.S. Highway 35 by the Indiana Department of Transportation so there's no need to dig up a brand new road to get at the sewers.

Mrvan said at a recent event in LaPorte celebrating the sewer separation project that he was glad to assist in the city in obtaining federal funding for this critical project.

"Thank you to Mayor Dermody and all of the leaders with the city of LaPorte for this collaborative initiative to improve our infrastructure and water quality for residents and businesses," Mrvan said.

"I look forward to continuing to advocate with stakeholders throughout our region to ensure that federal taxpayer dollars are being brought back to Northwest Indiana to grow our economy and enhance our quality of place."

LaPorte Mayor Tom Dermody, a Republican, said updating and replacing the city's aging water and wastewater infrastructure systems is an ongoing task for his administration.

"Our team has made it a priority to chip away at this problem one project at a time, and over the course of last several years we've done exactly that. This funding is critical to the next stage of this process, and we are very grateful to Congressman Mrvan for seeing our vision and doing what he can to make it a reality," Dermody said.

Altogether, Mrvan obtained $16 million in Community Project Funding through his work in Congress this year, all earmarked for local governments, police departments and infrastructure projects in Lake, Porter and northwest LaPorte counties.