Gov. Holcomb announces Indiana Finance Authority will oversee water study related to LEAP

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that he has directed the Indiana Finance Authority to begin exclusive oversight of the completion and validation of the INTERA water supply study happening in Tippecanoe County and expected to be completed by January 2024.

This announcement comes after months of criticism from communities all along the Wabash River. Government leaders and residents have expressed concerns over Indiana’s Economic Development Corp.'s how they perceived the lack of transparency in relaying information about the water-redirection project.

The LEAP project would potentially pull up to 100 million gallons of water a day from Tippecanoe County and pipe it to Boone County to help support a new economic district being developed by IEDC.

The announcement highlights how the study was originally commissioned by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and expected to operate at the speed of business and market demands to position Indiana for further capital investment.

This expectation is what has led to much of the criticism directed at the IEDC the past few months, as residents of Tippecanoe County have rallied together to host town halls, local representatives making pledges to work together to limit how much water will be removed from the area and communities along the Wabash coming together to form a group in hopes of stopping IEDC’s plans.

The announcement notes that Holcomb has instructed the Indiana Finance Authority to immediately start a planned comprehensive regional water study for North Central Indiana to examine watersheds covering Tippecanoe County and at least 12 other area counties, including Benton, Cass, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Howard, Montgomery, Parke, Tipton, Vermillion, Warren and White.

One of the main criticisms that people along the Wabash have expressed to local and state officials is the project’s seemingly short-sighted nature when it comes to the longevity of North Central Indiana's water resources.

That criticism has been heard as the announcement highlights that the comprehensive study will take into account future population and economic growth for the region and is expected to be completed in fall 2024.

The study will also incorporate the INTERA findings from its water study in hopes of providing the area with a more complete picture. With the completed set of data, officials hope to determine the amount of water that can responsibly be used to support all projected growth needs in the region and throughout the state.

This will be the fourth comprehensive regional water study that the Indiana Finance Authority has conducted since 2017.

Gov. Holcomb also announced that the Indiana Finance Authority will be adding new water monitoring devices in the area to support this regional study and to provide the public with the assurance that water use and availability will continue to be tracked accurately and in real time.

“I am confident that these new efforts led by IFA will provide the necessary data to gain a greater understanding of the amount of excess water that is truly available to support all the surrounding region’s growth prior to any action being taken that could inadvertently jeopardize this needed resource.  No entity is better suited to lead this overall pursuit than the IFA which will approach this study in the same methodical, collaborative, and transparent manner the organization has conducted in the past.” Gov. Holcomb said in the announcement.

“This is the natural next step to the data collection and will allow us the time to fully understand the region’s resource in order to continue our state’s unprecedented momentum in attracting employers that create high-wage careers."

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Holcomb announces Indiana Finance Authority will oversee water study