For Lou Ann Baker, the support of the Indianapolis City-County Council is as refreshing as a clean glass of water.
Baker is a member of the Eagle Creek Park Advisory Committee, a group created by Indianapolis in the 1970s to advocate on behalf of the park to the Indy Parks board.
She and thousands of city residents have worked to draw attention to a water deal that will send up to 25 million gallons per day of water to Lebanon Utilities for use in the LEAP district in Boone County by 2031.
The water will be treated at a Lebanon Utilities treatment plant and returned to the Eagle Creek Reservoir. Lebanon Utilities general manager Ed Basquill has said that the water discharged from the plant into the reservoir will meet state standards and will be the same quality or better than the water that is already there.
But residents like Baker have expressed concerns about whether the small city’s wastewater treatment plant will be able to sufficiently clean the water to avoid negatively affecting the biological integrity of the reservoir and local wildlife.
“This is a revered ecological oasis and habitat, not a commodity,” Baker said.
Residents didn’t have much say on the LEAP deal, which was made between Citizens Energy Group and Lebanon’s city government in 2024, before many knew what was happening.
But Baker and other residents are trying to influence the upcoming renewal of a 50-year deal between Indianapolis and Citizens Energy Group that sets the terms for water withdrawals from the reservoir.
They received welcome help when, on March 25, a bipartisan group of 21 Indianapolis city-county councilors signed a letter to Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, Lebanon Mayor Matthew Gentry, Citizens Energy Group CEO Jeffrey Harrison and Lebanon Utilities general manager Ed Basquill urging them to listen to residents and take action to protect the reservoir and keep future water deals transparent.
“As elected leaders, we know we must look to the future with its opportunities for the growth of our region,” the councilors wrote, in part. “However, the magnitude of this project, after four years of planning and yet minimal visibility to our constituents until just recently, with potentially negative impacts lasting into perpetuity, is not acceptable and will no longer be tolerated.”
See the full letter
District 21 Councilor Josh Bain, District 22 Councilor Paul Annee, District 23 Councilor Derek Cahill and District 25 Councilor Brian Mowery did not sign the letter. All are Republicans representing south side districts.
The letter is largely symbolic, as council members will not have a final say in either the LEAP deal or in the 50-year contract, which will be negotiated by Hogsett and potentially approved by the Board of Public Works, whose members are appointed by the mayor and the council.
“Eagle Creek Reservoir and Eagle Creek Park are among some of our city’s most beloved natural assets,” said city spokesperson Aliya Wishner in an emailed statement. “We are grateful for the City-County Council’s support of the vital due diligence underway to make sure all future water usage best protects this important asset.”
Wishner also said the Department of Public Works is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the water withdrawal agreement that will include U.S. Geological Survey bathymetric survey data, which determines the depth of the reservoir and how much water it can hold. Once the review is completed, the city will be prepared to renegotiate the agreement, she said.
For Baker, the letter is representative democracy in action.
“I think that’s the way the system is supposed to work,” she said. “The council letter represents 20,000 plus local residents who have voiced an opinion regarding this project. People have signed petitions, attended public meetings, organized their neighborhood associations and spoken out very loudly about the proposed plan. And what you see is the local government reacting to those citizens’ concerns.”
Voicing residents’ concerns
The letter contains residents’ concerns about the type and amount of pollutants that could potentially enter the reservoir.
Currently, the LEAP district only has two planned tenants, the 1.2 million-square-foot Lilly Medicine Foundry, which is set to open next year, and Meta’s 1,500-acre, 13-building data center campus, which will open by 2031.
But several lots remain available for industrial tenants on the 9,000-acre district, and more tenants could mean more pollutants in the reservoir.
Basquill told Mirror Indy earlier this month that Lebanon Utility clients will be responsible for pretreating their water before they discharge it. Lebanon Utilities’ plant will treat the water even further.
The letter also speaks about residents’ concerns about the location where water would be released into Eagle Creek Park, which would then flow into the reservoir.
Lebanon Utilities had seven options for the outfall’s location, but chose a spot at Eagle Creek Park, just west of Lafayette Road. In February, representatives from Lebanon Utilities said they selected the spot because it was the most cost effective.
“We believe that, when a neighboring city chooses to deposit its wastewater into our most prized city park, the ‘convenience’ for Lebanon should not override the environmental sensitivity concerns of our park or of our citizenry,” councilors wrote in the letter. “Eagle Creek Park and the citizens of Indianapolis should not be penalized for poor site selection of an industrial complex intentionally located in a water desert, that is, the Lebanon area.”
Wishner said the city also believes that other outfall locations should be considered.
The councilors also presented residents’ concerns that more water pollution in the reservoir will drive property values down.
A new deal for future residents
Baker said that although much of the LEAP district deal has already been decided, letting Hogsett know residents’ concerns about the reservoir’s use could impact the city’s water future.
The Metropolitan Development Commission recently approved the construction of a hyperscale data center in Decatur Township. Other data centers could be built in the Martindale Brightwood neighborhood, Pike Township and outside the city in Plainfield, Pittsboro, Monrovia and elsewhere near the Eagle Creek watershed.
If more data centers choose to build near Indianapolis or more tenants move into the LEAP district, water availability could become an issue.
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Baker believes getting a new agreement for water withdrawals done the right way will help ensure companies don’t use up too much of our drinking water.
Citizens Energy is in the last months of a 50-year deal that allows it to withdraw up to 19.8 million gallons of water per day from Eagle Creek reservoir. It expires July 1.
A new deal could allow the company to withdraw even more water.
“We have one shot to get this right, because there will never be less water that comes out of the reservoir. There will never be less water that comes down a wastewater pipe somewhere that’s going to impact our resources. And so this is just the first step in trying to get people to recognize the value of this resource,” she said.
Getting involved
Learn more about the Eagle Creek Reservoir by visiting the Eagle Creek Park Foundation website. You can also sign support petitions at the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter website or on Change.org.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
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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