'The goal is to stop this' - Stop the Water Steal advocacy group holds first meeting
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Wednesday marked the first official meeting of the grass roots group, Stop the Water Steal, which aims to fight against Indiana’s Economic Development Corp.’s LEAP project.
The LEAP project plans to pump about 100 million gallons of water a day from Tippecanoe County’s aquifers and pipe it to Boone County to help support a new economic district being constructed there by the state's economic development corporation.
“If it were merely a matter that some other community needed water to supply their human needs, you know, I think we might think about this differently," West Lafayette City Council member David Sanders said as he discussed the project's lack of transparency to the public and local officials.
"What’s actually happened in this case is that the (Indiana Economic Development Corp.) has created a plan to host industries that require massive amounts of water in a place that doesn’t have any water. That makes no sense,” Sanders said as he explained the motive to create the Stop the Water Steal advocacy group.
“And they knew it made no sense. That’s why they’ve been hiding it. That’s why we’ve only been learning about it comparatively recently.”
Over the past few months, as more information on the project began to trickle out, the public became increasingly upset by the lack of transparency about the project from the state-run economic development corporation.
In August, the Journal & Courier published a three-day series about the LEAP project's plans for Tippecanoe County's aquifers, shedding light on how the Boone County project might affect Tippecanoe County and communities downstream of the proposed LEAP wells.
The goals of Stop the Water Steal
The public's outrage over the LEAP project's plans to pump water to Lebanon more than 40 miles — about one-third the width of the state — spurred the creation of the grass-root effort protect the aquifers in Tippecanoe County and the Wabash River.
The group brings together the collective knowledge and passion of those living along the Wabash River with the hope of advocating for modern water rights in Indiana and devising a plan to either stop, slow down, or minimize the impact of the project and similar projects in the future.
The first meeting of the Stop the Water Steal group had two goals: establish the leadership and mission of the group and offer residents the opportunity to write a letter to their respective state legislators.
Sandra Alvillar, the director of strategy for Stop the Water Steal, addressed the group during the meeting.
“People have to understand in this community that they have a voice that deserves to be heard. I think a lot of people felt disempowered that there’s nothing they can do against this big money with legislators,” Alvillar said.
“We want to prove to them that if they show up in numbers they will be heard. These letters are just the first step in this whole process.”
Alvillar noted that although the group is still relatively new, only starting approximately two weeks ago, the group’s passion and drive to build up the community’s voice to stand up against the IEDC and its plan is something they will work hard to do.
“The goal is to stop this," Alvillar said. "So if there is any way we can stop it, we’re going to consider every means possible that’s legal within the law. If we absolutely can’t, down the road six months, 12 months whatever it is, then we’re going to try and slow it down,” Alvillar said.
One of the major aspects of the LEAP project that the Stop the Water Steal group highlighted was the lack of research and data the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has provided to the residents regarding how the withdrawal of water will affect the aquifer and the water in the area.
“The goal is to do the research," Alvillar said. "To understand how this is going to impact us and not just currently but in the long term if there are any projects in the future.
“We’re going to do our research, (and) we’re going to share that research with people," she said. "I think the more they learn about this project, they’re going to be outraged and they’re going to want to let their legislators know.”
Alvillar made it clear that Stop the Water Steal doesn’t care if someone is Republican or Democratic. All they care about is someone's willingness to fight for the water rights of Hoosiers living along the Wabash River.
The executive team is comprised of Sanders as the chairman, Alvillar as the director of strategy, Naomi Ybarra as the secretary, Nathan Walker as the community outreach officer, Kathy Willowoode as the environmental community outreach officer and Lori Redd as the press relations.
For more information on the group, individuals can visit their website stopthewatersteal.org.
Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: 'The goal is to stop this' - Stop the Water Steal holds first meeting
