{Content Courtesy: IBJ} Construction is set to begin early next year on a $560 million project to send millions of gallons of water each day to Lebanon to meet the demands of the state’s 9,000-acre LEAP Research and Innovation District.
As work advances in the coming years, the Citizens-Lebanon Water Supply Program is expected to provide 2 million gallons of water per day to Lebanon Utilities by 2027, 10 million gallons per day by 2028 and 25 million gallons per day by 2031 when the project is expected to be complete.
The project will serve the needs of the LEAP District, where Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. is building a $13.5 billion manufacturing complex and where Menlo Park, California-based Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, is planning a data center project that could reach an investment of $4.8 billion. Lebanon also stands to benefit from the increased water supply after the city spent years looking for a water source to support new development.
The Citizens-Lebanon program has also drawn concern from residents on the northwest side of the metropolitan area who worry about its impact on water resources and the environment around Eagle Creek Reservoir. About 475 property owners in Boone, Hamilton, Hendricks and Marion counties have received letters from Citizens requesting property easements for the water project, and in some cases, eminent domain is already being litigated.
The project will send water from all of Citizens Water’s sources—including Eagle Creek Reservoir, Citizens Reservoir, Geist Reservoir, Morse Reservoir, the White River, Fall Creek and other groundwater sources—to Lebanon through 53 miles of new water mains installed in the four counties.
While it will receive a greater amount of water because of the LEAP District, Lebanon Utilities will be a wholesale customer of Citizens like nine other central Indiana communities, including the northwestern suburban towns of Brownsburg and Whitestown. By comparison, Whitestown receives about 4 million gallons of water per day from Citizens.
“There are 10 sources of water that power the full system,” Citizens Energy Group spokesperson Ben Easley said. “And the totality of the system is what is being used to supply Lebanon Utilities just in the same way that when I get a drink of water out of my tap, the water could come from anywhere.”
Recent Comments