Citizens Will Add To Water Supply By Building 2.7 Billion Gallon Reservoir In Fishers

FISHERS, IND. -- Citizens Energy is adding to its water reserves in central Indiana by flooding an 88-acre quarry in Hamilton County.

The gas and water company announced Tuesday morning it will construct a 2.7 billion gallon reservoir in Fishers. That water will be stored in a limestone quarry Citizens is purchasing just a few feet from the Geist Reservoir. They'll name it, aptly, Citizens Reservoir.

"Fall Creek and Geist serve our downstream water treatment plants, so this quarry will be, during times of need, will put water back into the reservoir so it can flow down to our treatment plants," Jeff Willman, vice president of water operations for Citizens, said at a press event.

The entire project will cost $20 million, Willman said. The reservoir is expected to be online by 2020 and won’t affect any nearby properties, he added. The property will be purchased from Irving Materials, which is still operating in the quarry.

Hamilton County's population has been growing quickly in recent years, now nearing 300,000 residents. Indiana experienced a drought in 2012, which required water restrictions.

The quarry is about 230 feet deep. Citizens officials say it will capture water that currently spills over the Geist Reservoir's dam. 

Officials are considering building a reservoir in nearby Anderson, which would be known as Mounds Lake. Willman says that possibility doesn’t affect Citizens’ long term water strategy, which he says includes expanding the company’s water supply.

"We have a long term plan," Willman said. "This is part of it. The Anderson plan has never been in our long term plan, so I don't think anything changes in that regard."