After nearly 50 years, a contract that sets the limit on how much water Citizens Energy Group can withdraw from the Eagle Creek Reservoir is set to expire.
The city of Indianapolis, which owns the reservoir, will negotiate a new agreement that could potentially change how much water is taken from the reservoir and how much the city would get paid for it.
But the city’s pick for the hydrologist who will study the issue is raising concerns among some residents over whether he has a conflict of interest.
On May 27, the Board of Public Works voted 4-3 to approve a contract between the Department of Public Works and Wittman Consulting, LLC, a company headed by professional hydrologist Jack Wittman.
Wittman has been a hydrologist for more than 40 years. He was a vice president at Intera, the Texas-based engineering firm that has done work for Citizens Energy Group and other utility companies and state agencies like the Indiana Finance Authority and the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
The company conducted a study that found there was enough water to establish the LEAP district in 2023.
He retired from the company last year, but people living near Eagle Creek, conservationists and some board members expressed concerns about potential conflicts of interest in Wittman’s assessment due to his previous work.
Lou Ann Baker, who lives near the park and is a member of the Eagle Creek Park Advisory Committee, is concerned his ties to the LEAP district could shape his recommendations to the city and, ultimately, the next water deal.
“He’s very knowledgeable, he’s very experienced. There’s no question about his professional qualifications,” said Baker. “But transparency remains a big question in this part of the process, especially given some of his recent clients and the work that he’s done in affiliation with this project.”
Wittman denies there’s a conflict of interest. He told the board that his previous work dealt mainly with the question of water availability and his conclusions have been and will continue to be based purely on science.
“Because of the length of time I’ve been here and the people that I’ve worked with — and the fact that there aren’t that many hydrologists, it turns out — I’ve been included in a part of some of these larger projects, including LEAP,” Wittman told the board. “There’s a lot of water in the location that we tested, and that’s the only answer that I could give. I wasn’t making any kind of development decision. I was helping people make a decision with information about the aquifer itself.”
Why Wittman?
According to DPW chief communications officer Kyle Bloyd, Wittman’s expertise will benefit the city by providing recommendations based on what a resource, like the Eagle Creek Reservoir, can actually provide.
“He chose to come out of retirement because he believes in helping the city through this process,” Bloyd said in an emailed response to Mirror Indy’s questions.
Bloyd also noted that the city will make the final decision on what’s best during negotiations with Citizens Energy.
But with Wittman’s previous work with Citizens Energy and the IEDC, why did DPW ultimately choose his firm?
According to DPW stormwater administrator Natalie Stephen, it’s hard to find a water expert who has not done work with someone the city might have to negotiate with.
She said DPW vetted consultants and asked whether they were actively doing work with Citizens Energy or the LEAP district.
“We had that same conversation with him. Yes, he has done work with utilities in the past. I think we’d probably be hard pressed to find a firm that hasn’t,” Stephen said. “But we genuinely felt like he has the city’s best interests in mind, and we believe that he will be fair and equitable in his findings. So, we really do believe he is the best choice for this work.”
What’s in the contract?
According to the service agreement, Wittman Consulting will receive up to $108,000 to review the current water withdrawal agreement with Citizens Energy and a future agreement, once it is negotiated.
Wittman’s firm will also evaluate how much water the reservoir can hold, how water withdrawals associated with the LEAP district will affect the reservoir and how treated water sent back from the LEAP district will affect water levels and water quality in the reservoir.
DPW director Todd Wilson said at the May 27 meeting the city will pursue a one-year extension of the current contract. That extra time would allow the city to study how changes in water withdrawals will affect the reservoir — facts that will be used to determine the withdrawal limits in the next agreement.
Worries about worst-case scenarios
In 2020, a state study found that nine Central Indiana counties would see a significant increase in water withdrawals by 2070.
A study a year later — directed by Wittman — found that while there would be more water withdrawn for the public water supply, it would be mitigated by an increase in water from wastewater treatment plants.
Citizens Energy says that’s the case with the Eagle Creek Reservoir. The company says water flows into the Eagle Creek Reservoir from upstream sources have increased by about 50% and will continue to increase.
But Baker worries about how increased demand from potential new data centers and other water-intensive industries would affect the reservoir over the next 50 years if Citizens Energy is contractually allowed to withdraw water even during drought conditions like the state faced in 1988 and 1989.
During those years, record-low rainfall throughout the state resulted in low river flows and many major reservoirs in the state, like the Geist and Morse reservoirs, approached or reached record low levels. The water levels at the Eagle Creek Reservoir dropped several feet.
Bloyd said potential future impacts, along with water quantity and quality, will be some of the issues discussed when negotiations begin.
But those talks will not begin until Wittman’s firm and DPW get all the facts, he said.
“Negotiations will not begin on the new agreement until the city has sufficient data. The city is committed to maintaining the level of service that has been in place the last 50 years,” he said.
DPW director Wilson said the public would not have an opportunity to provide comment on the report, but Baker said she hopes the city will release the data Wittman Consulting LLC finds before the city makes a deal with Citizens.
“Everyone is still in the mode of wanting to build and establish trust, and sneaky things aren’t helpful,” Baker said.
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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.
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