2000 acre proposed reservoir for Indiana

MUNCIE — The proposed Mounds Lake reservoir project that would span portions of Delaware and Madison counties got an endorsement from the Delaware County commissioners on Monday.

With a few reservations.

Commissioner James King, who is also police chief of the town of Daleville, told Rob Sparks, a Madison County economic development official and one of the organizers of the proposed reservoir plan, that his priority would be determining whether the project would have a positive impact on his town.

“I support it now,” King said. “If it’s not going to be beneficial to Daleville, I would go the other way.”

King joined commissioners Larry Bledsoe and Sherry Riggin in approving a non-binding resolution supporting environmental and engineering site studies for the project.

King said he hoped the phase 2 study “would find out if Daleville would be wetlands or it would have boat landings (and other features).”

In a previous public meeting, officials indicated the shallow end of the reservoir would be in Delaware County, gradually becoming more shallow until it is about two feet deep.

The Mounds Lake project would take the form of a reservoir running along the path of the White River, beginning in the middle of Anderson and ending in western Delaware County. It would be seven miles long and cover 2,100 acres, passing through Salem Township near Daleville and approaching Mount Pleasant Township. The project would cost $400 million or more and take four years to complete.

Officials — who have yet to find financing for the project — tout it as a way of providing fresh water for generations to come in Central Indiana, including the Indianapolis area. The project’s economic development aspects are also frequently cited.

“There’s long-term potential for future growth and housing,” Sparks said Monday. “Including growth at Exit 234,” referring to the Daleville exit along Interstate 69.

Sparks said the phase 2 studies on the project would be done as early as November.

Contact Keith Roysdon at 213-5828 and follow him on Twitter at @keithroysdon.