Indianapolis officials are preparing to negotiate a long-term agreement with Citizens Energy Group over water management at Eagle Creek Reservoir.
In the meantime, the Board of Public Works extended the current 50-year contract for a year with annual renewals through 2031. The contract was set to expire July 1.
The extension will allow the city to review how the current contract, and potential changes, would affect the reservoir. The city has said it would not begin negotiating another long-term contract until the review is complete.
Brian Cavanaugh, the board’s lawyer, said the extension will ensure there’s no disruption to water services while a new deal is negotiated.
The current contract allows Citizens Energy to withdraw a maximum of 19.8 million gallons of water per day from the reservoir. It can withdraw more, though, with DPW approval.
With projects like the LEAP district in Boone County tapping into the reservoir’s water, conservationists and residents living near Eagle Creek Park worry about excessive withdrawals. If too much water is taken from the reservoir, its biological integrity could be harmed and the fish and birds that depend on it could be killed or driven away, they say.
Lou Ann Baker, who lives near the park and is a member of the Eagle Creek Park Advisory Committee, told the board she is grateful the city is taking its time with a new deal and is gathering more information.
“It’s important that this contract not just focus on the amount of water withdrawn, but it also has to contain future accountability provisions, reasonable cost structure and look at how it interfaces not just with the water system but the overall ecosystem,” she said.
Baker said the contract should also spell out what happens if Indianapolis is under water-use restrictions in times of drought. Would the reservoir still have to supply Lebanon Utilities in such situations?
In 2024, Citizens Energy Group signed a deal that would send up to 25 million gallons of water a day from Indianapolis sources, including the Eagle Creek Reservoir, to Lebanon Utilities for use in the LEAP district.
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.
DPW has hired hydrologist Jack Wittman to perform the city’s review.
Wittman was formerly part of the engineering firm Intera 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.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations. Sign up for our free newsletters.
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.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
