The great lesson in Fort Wayne’s 18-year sewer saga is that the strongest proof of government’s ability to solve big, long-horizon problems is literally beneath us.

The Long Term Control Plan, the decades-long effort to keep sewage out of rivers and basements, delivered cleaner waterways, protected 45,000 homes and now keeps nearly 2 billion gallons of dirty water out of the rivers each year. And it did so in a way that runs against every cliché about government inefficiency. The plan stayed focused, collaborative and alive across multiple mayorships, City Councils and shifting political winds. It was a major accomplishment celebrated at Promenade Park on Nov. 5, and it is worth keeping in mind as we consider other monumental tasks that we confront locally, nationally and globally.

The s

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