Ed Van Lue's pond on Snowberry Road in New Carlisle is seen in May and December 2024 to show how the water level dropped. Van Lue used his phone to show these photos, which his grandson had taken. Staff photo by Joseph Dits
New Carlisle-area neighbors should blame drought rather than Amazon Web Services data centers or the General Motors/Samsung SDI EV battery plant going up nearby for their wells running dry, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Several residents told The Tribune in May they were having to use bottled water for basic tasks or that their fish ponds had dropped, tying the problems to the ongoing construction of an $11 billion AWS data center and $3.5 billion General Motors/Samsung SDI EV battery plant.
Now the DNR says it has investigated their complaints and reported its findings, which indicate no connection, although the area is still under monitoring.
“DNR has been reporting to homeowners who filed complaints of domestic well failures during the investigation, and DNR has thus far found groundwater levels to be consistent with historic groundwater levels,” said Marty Benson, the public information officer for the Indiana DNR, a state agency tasked with managing Indiana’s natural resources, in an email interview with The Tribune. “Summer drought is certainly a factor in low groundwater levels. DNR will continue to monitor groundwater in the area.”
DNR has also communicated those findings to Bill Schalliol, the executive director of economic development for St. Joseph County.
Copyright © 2025, South Bend Tribune