Indiana Chamber study: State has enough water, but needs plan for future

A new water study released Monday by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce says the state has a “plentiful” but unevenly distributed water supply that will require a coordinated effort to manage in the future.

Jack Wittman, study project leader, said the state needs to look ahead to future growth areas of the state and manage its water supply accordingly. The state is in a much stronger position than many Western states, according to the study.

“What we were impressed by was how much water is available in the state of Indiana. There is no shortage in the state,” Wittman told reporters Monday. “It’s not really about, is there enough to satisfy the needs of all of the different users? It’s more about, can we manage the supplies? Can we build the infrastructure to do that?”

Besides state planning, the study said it would be critical for Indiana to have sustainable funding, a data-monitoring framework, regional planning guidance and a continuously updated state water plan. It also urges continued coordination with the Indiana Finance Authority, which is conducting an ongoing 28-county Wabash headwaters study to be released later this year.

A policy that could be best applied to Indiana is one used currently by Minnesota, Wittman said. That structure would divide the state into regions in which teams of officials would develop plans on a more localized scale. The state would develop a framework that would guide each region’s planning efforts, and the larger water plan would be a culmination of regional findings.

Central Indiana will need to be the most conscientious of its water quantity, Wittman said, since it has the most variable supply and is a hot spot for development. Southern Indiana has already established water supplies that would be most ideal for large-scale development clusters, Wittman said. The northern region has significant water resources but still needs careful planning, he said.

The study also found that groundwater withdrawals have increased at a faster rate compared to surface water diversions since the chamber commissioned its first study, in 2014. Withdrawals for industrial use are also on the decline, the study found, and capacity can be added regionally to support new development.

Austin, Texas-based environmental resource firm INTERA, which has a Bloomington office, conducted the research, and the effort included consultations with the chamber’s Water Resources Advisory Committee.

The study adds to a litany of research into the state’s water supply amid concerns over new water-intensive economic development.

In particular, the Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s 9,000-acre LEAP Lebanon Innovation District in Boone County would require massive water withdrawals, including a proposed 35-mile pipeline tapping a Wabash River aquifer for 100 million gallons a day. Aquifers are an “increasingly important” avenue to provide for seasonal water demands, the chamber study found.

The IFA study will provide more detailed information on the capacities of the area around the LEAP District, Wittman said.

“One good thing about the LEAP project was that it helped people see why what we’re doing today might not be enough,” Wittman said. “It helps us see what other things we can do to make sure that we already anticipated these questions, and we’re ready with information and data.”

Conversations centered on water-quantity concerns have pivoted to an actionable debate over reforming the state’s local control policy—especially involving water.

The chamber plans to join a roster of other stakeholders seeking to assist with new public policy and will use the study to provide support when drafting new legislation. Chamber CEO Vanessa Green Sinders said the chamber plans to connect with local chambers and share study-based policy recommendations with lawmakers.

“Local governments need to be more involved in the process,” Wittman said in the written remarks. “There are experiences that counties have now with being more directly involved in the question of water. That needs to be brought to the table and considered.”

• How much water can be pumped from aquifers during seasonal and long-term droughts?
• How much water will be needed to satisfy growth?
• How much information and data are needed to manage and track changes in the resource?
• To what degree is water quality affecting the availability of new supplies?
• How can the state agencies coordinate to manage data and resources?

The report’s recommendations are “fairly blunt,” he said. This is an urgent problem, he said, but it will take at least another five to 10 years to develop solution infrastructure.

Water-focused local control legislation is expected to be hashed out in the 2025 session early next year.