EDITORIAL: Comprehensive water plan necessary for state

“Today, if you asked 100 people in Indiana about our water supply, 99 would say we don’t have a problem,” Ed Charbonneau, a Republican state senator from Valparaiso, told CNHI reporter Maureen Hayden this month.

The 99 percent might be right, for now. Trouble may loom on the horizon, though.

A new 80-page report by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce warned that demand for water may outstrip its supply in the future. Population growth, along with expanded manufacturing and agricultural needs, could plunge regions of the state where water is less abundant into dubious situations. At some point, a network of water lines may be needed to pipe the resource across county lines, said the report’s author, Bloomington-based hydrologist Jack Wittman.

Water sharing can be costly and contentious. Water rights already cause fireworks in Indiana. As Hayden reported, unresolved disputes linger over who owns and regulates water, rising rate increases, and the unregulated discharges of pollution and untreated water into waterways. Those realities manifested themselves well before the Chamber of Commerce report compiled its report. Water-related conflicts have been as small as a local arguments over farming products seeping into neighbors’ wells, and as massive as complaints by legislators from neighboring Illinois to the U.S. EPA over BP’s Whiting Refinery being allowed to discharge mercury-tainted wastewater into Lake Michigan.

The report shines a light on looming availability problems. Southern Indiana stands as a prime example. Business development is expected to expand in that region, thanks to the growth of Interstate 69 and the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center. Water is crucial in manufacturing, agriculture and energy production processes, but only a few groundwater aquifers exist in the state’s southern sector. By contrast, northern Indiana is water-rich, but irrigation has boosted demand and needs monitoring. Meanwhile, central Indiana’s needs could rise by 50 million gallons of water per day because of population increases, according to the Chamber.

Each area’s water problems are as different as its quantity.

If the state intends to grow its economy — and that indeed is the case — comprehensive water resource plans should be developed on a state and regional basis, the report concludes. In Minnesota, for example, water management planning is a multi-million investment. Indiana has more than 800 water utilities but no single agency overseeing water management.

That haphazard situation may seem nostalgically independent and quaint, but in a 21st-century economy involving global competition the state looks vulnerable to shortages and fluctuations in water accessibility and rates. In a letter to the editor on Page B3 today, an Indiana Chamber official expressed confidence that Gov. Mike Pence and the Legislature “are engaged on this issue,” improving the chances for a comprehensive statewide water plan.

Hoosiers need to be engaged, too. The Chamber’s water advisory council includes a diverse array of members, from the steel industry to the Indiana Wildlife Federation. In the Terre Haute region, the voices of citizens involved in Wabash River-related activities should join in the conversation, as well as those from Valley business, arts, outdoors and environmental interests. A good starting point would be to contact Charbonneau by phone at 1-800-382-9467 or email at eikenbe@iga.in.gov.

Action now could help prevent huge headaches in coming years.