Since June 2019, Citizens Energy Group and F.A. Wilhelm Construction have been working together to develop a new water storage reservoir for Central Indiana. The new structure, called Citizens Reservoir, will hold over 3 billion gallons of water and help ensure sufficient water supplies are available during extended periods of dry weather. It also will support continued economic development and population growth in Central Indiana. Citizens Reservoir is approximately 220 feet deep, covers 90 acres and is large enough to completely contain Lucas Oil Stadium and Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“Citizens Reservoir is a critical element of Citizens' long-term water supply plan,” said Jeffery Willman, Vice President, Water Operations. "The additional storage capacity will enhance system reliability during system peaks. The new reservoir is also very cost-effective compared to other supply options and will help us maintain affordable water rates for all Citizens customers.”
Citizens Reservoir is being developed from a retired limestone quarry formerly operated by Irving Materials, Inc. The new reservoir is located adjacent to Geist Reservoir in southeast Hamilton County.
Since the 1970s, various plans were considered to utilize the quarry for water storage purposes. The final project design was developed by an internal cross-functional team with assistance from Arcadis, a global design, engineering and management consulting firm.
Citizens’ strategy to convert an existing quarry into a water storage reservoir can be accomplished much quicker and at much lower cost compared to conventional reservoir construction. As such, Citizens’ conversion approach has been applauded by several key stakeholder and environmental groups.
Construction is expected to be complete by year-end 2020. Filling operations will begin in early 2021.
“Because of our experience with DigIndy, we were able to utilize similar design and construction methods for our tunneling and drop shafts for the Citizens Reservoir, which allowed us to achieve efficiencies and significant savings for our customers,” said Mark Jacob, Vice President, Capital Programs and Engineering/Quality Systems.
When construction is complete, a new water intake structure located on the Geist Reservoir shoreline will allow excess and unused water to flow from Geist and fill the new reservoir. Depending on weather conditions and flow rates, it will likely take 1-3 months to fill the new reservoir.
During dry weather conditions, water can be pumped from Citizens Reservoir back into Geist Reservoir and then flow downstream to the Fall Creek and White River Water Treatment Plants for treatment and distribution to our customers.
Unlike Geist and Morse reservoirs, Citizens Reservoir will not be open for private development or recreational use by the public.
To learn more about this project, visit the Citizens Reservoir page on our site.