Utilities answer questions about LEAP district, Eagle Creek water deal

Lifelong Traders Point resident Judy Brown Fletcher, 76, remembers the tragedy that led to the creation of Eagle Creek Park.

In 1957, Eagle Creek and other waterways experienced historic flooding after the remnants of Hurricane Audrey dropped massive amounts of rain in a two-day period. The flood killed six people and damaged more than 1,300 homes and businesses.

“My mother and I heard an explosion that occurred from the flooding of a Marathon gas station that used to be in Traders Point. U.S. Route 52, which is now Lafayette Road, was flooded for at least two weeks,” she remembered.
 

After the flood, city officials created Eagle Creek Park to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. It opened in 1969 and could hold 8 billion gallons of water.

Now, nearly 60 years after worrying about flooding near her home, Brown Fletcher is concerned that there might not be enough water in the area.

That’s because of a water deal that would send up to 25 million gallons of water per day from the Eagle Creek Park reservoir and other Indianapolis water sources to Boone County to support the 9,000-acre LEAP Research and Innovation District.

“What happens to the Hamilton County aquifers? What happens to growth in the future that might be dependent upon the aquifers after sending many, many gallons of water per day over to Boone County?” she said.

Brown Fletcher isn’t the only Indianapolis resident with questions about the $550 million deal.

More than 200 concerned residents, including District 3 City-County Councilor Dan Boots, packed the New Augusta North Public Academy auditorium Feb. 10 to hear about the plan from Citizens Energy and Lebanon Utilities representatives and ask their questions in person.
 

Water deal details

Citizens Energy director of water production Steve Berube said the Citizens – Lebanon Water Supply Program deal would send increasing amounts of water to Lebanon Utilities over the next five years.

He said Citizens began planning for the project when it was approached by the state in 2024.

“We evaluated our plan and identified that it was feasible,” Berube said.
 

The company will send up to 2 million gallons of water per day by 2027, up to 10 million gallons per day by 2028 and up to 25 million gallons of water per day by 2031.

Berube said these amounts would be the maximum flows, not the average daily amount, which is predicted to be about half the maximum flows.

The water would be withdrawn from throughout the Citizens water system in Indianapolis, not just from the Eagle Creek reservoir.

To be able to do that, the company is increasing the capacity of the T.W. Moses Water Treatment Plant by the Eagle Creek Reservoir to hold 6 million more gallons and its White River North Treatment Plant to hold 25 million more gallons.

It’s also installing 53 miles of new water system mains, upgrading one pump station and building four new ones and building seven distribution storage tanks.

Citizens said ratepayers will not pay for the upgrades. The Citizens – Lebanon Water Supply Program is being financed via a state revolving fund loan that will be paid back by the businesses at the LEAP district.

In all, the project is expected to cost about $550 million.

Eagle Creek will get its water back

Once the water is used at the LEAP district, it will be treated by Lebanon Utilities and released back into the Eagle Creek reservoir.

Lebanon Utilities is expanding the size of its wastewater treatment plant to handle the new water.

According to Lebanon Utilities general manager Ed Basquill, construction has not yet begun.

“We're not actually starting construction on this project until 2028, and there are still environmental studies going on,” he said.
 

Those studies could influence the final site of the outfall, which is where the water sent back by Lebanon Utilities would be discharged.

Right now, the outfall is planned at Eagle Creek Park, just west of Lafayette Road.

Boots, the councilor who is chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee that oversees Eagle Creek Park, told the company representatives he is concerned about how quickly the LEAP district water source shifted from the Wabash River to Eagle Creek without much research.

“The Wabash (River) alternative had all kinds of studies mandated and paid for by the state, I understand, yet we've seen none for this project. So, I think people feel they've been short circuited here by such a quick turn to Eagle Creek,” Boots said.
 

Previous studies have also looked at creating a reservoir in the Sugar Creek watershed, where the LEAP project is located. According to Basquill, that option was abandoned because it would have taken as many as 20 years to build and would have involved moving railroad tracks, bridges and an interstate.

Boots also told the companies they need to ensure that the Lebanon treatment plant is able to treat contaminants from current and future LEAP district tenants. Currently, only Meta and Eli Lilly and Co. have signed on as tenants.

“We don't know who all the future tenants are going to be. There's going to be chemicals coming out of that LEAP district that we may not even know exist yet, and we don't know if they can be detected,” Boots said. “We need to make sure Lebanon’s is the most technologically advanced waste treatment plant in the world.”
 

Boots was opposed to having the outfall directly in Eagle Creek Park.

“It must move,” Boots told the company representatives. “You must move the discharge location.”

Concerns about wildlife and new deals

Residents who live near Eagle Creek Park shared concerns about how the water withdrawal could affect wildlife that depend on coastal wetlands called mudflats.

“These mudflats are a really critical habitat for migratory birds, and they depend on a reliable, seasonal water level. It’s something that we need to maintain,” said retired hydrologist Martin Risch.
 

Citizens’ Berube said the water deal would not affect the Eagle Creek Reservoir’s water levels, because treatment plants in Westfield, Carmel and Zionsville are discharging 8.5 million gallons of water per day, which adds to the amount available in Citizens’ service area.

Resident Lou Ann Baker wanted the company representatives to know that she would oppose dramatic increases in the amount of water Indianapolis allowed Citizens to withdraw from the reservoir.

The 50-year contract between Citizens Energy and the city of Indianapolis allows Citizens to withdraw 19.8 million gallons of water per day from Eagle Creek reservoir. The contract expires July 1.

“If, in fact, we're going to take one to 3 million gallons a day, on average, of water from the reservoir and send it north to Lebanon, we would like to be sure that the withdrawal number contract doesn't dramatically escalate to a number that can make us nervous that they're going to take more water out,” Baker said.

Where to find more information

To learn more about the Citizens-Lebanon Water Supply Program, check out their dedicated website.

Citizens Energy will also hold informational sessions at the Indianapolis Public Library Pike Branch community room, at 6525 Zionsville Road, on the following dates:

Feb. 17
12:30-1:30 p.m.
3:30-5:30 p.m.

March 3
3:30-5:30 p.m.

April 7
3:30-5:30 p.m.

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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.