http://www.indystar.com/article/20130413/NEWS/304140020/New-reservoir-would-stretch-from-Anderson-Yorktown
New reservoir would stretch from Anderson to Yorktown
Project planned to supply more water, create water tourism dollars
(http://ws.gcion.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BG&Date=20130413&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=304140020&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0)
The west fork of White River passes by quickly and quietly these days, meandering south of downtown Anderson on its way toward Indianapolis.
But there may come a day when this river suddenly slams into a new dam, splashing against its walls and then backing up and covering seven miles of river valley lowlands from downtown Anderson, east to Yorktown.
On that day, maybe five or 10 years from now, maybe never, life as we know it on the east side of Anderson- from small river-side homes and churches to fast-food restaurants and a shopping mall - would be buried under roughly 50 feet of water. ...
Has anyone been down by Edgewater Park? If you have, you'd notice the park is gone and it appears obvious the reservoir project is a done deal.
Like it or not, Anderson is quickly becoming a bedroom community for Indianapolis workers. Increasingly, jobs paying a living wage are only available there or within other communities within a similar commute range. The jobs available in Madison County are increasingly minimum wage range endeavors that do nothing more than allow a family of three to barely scrape by. To work for a wage that allows one to progress in their lives, one has to commute outside of town, and outside of Madison County.
Combine this fact with the ongoing and increasingly critical water shortage, (And yes it is real and the "true hidden agenda" in this project IMHO), and it really shouldn't be a hard decision to make; Madison County, Anderson, Chesterfield, and Daleville /Delaware county, can either jump behind this project or sit idly by as it is built somewhere else in the same general vicinity.
Our local governments continue to struggle with the lost revenues the flight of manufacturing saddled our communities with, and there is no reasonable replacement(s) coming anytime soon. Those revenues are gone, and if we as residents of these communities hold any expectation of having the same or similar levels of community services available to us, then identification and replacements for these lost revenues needs to be a priority for all of us. And the jobs/businesses we've seen touted as replacements as of the past decade aren't anywhere near what is needed.
Anderson and all of the other impacted communities need to decide whether we all want to die a slow and drawn out death, highlighted by increasingly lower service levels and another decade or so of living hand to mouth, or do we want to embrace the fact we are destined to be a bedroom community to commutable businesses located outside of our cities and towns?
This project represents a potential opportunity to embrace the bedroom community status, with the addition of future high revenue generating home/business sites around it to bolster local revenue streams.
Yes, there are some environmental hurdles to overcome with this project, as there are with most projects of this size and type. However, given the fact that the need for this project is due to critical water supply issues, and the fact that state / federal government entities would have great interest in seeing this new resource for water come to fruition, I'm sure funding is the least of the challenges this project represents.
The facts are that the environmental challenges are surmountable, and once achieved they would represent a safe source for water in central Indiana. Moreover, it would likely lead to the dissolution of the city owned water utility entity, in favor of a larger, independently owned water management over site entity that could lead to lower water bills for everyone in the vicinity. (Could being the operative word here).
Currently the business environment within the area identified for this project is a bleak one; with the lions share of businesses that existed there either already relocating to the south end of town, closing up altogether , or barely scraping by.
We can choose to buy into the defeatist perspective here and thumb our noses at the opportunity, or we can let the feasibility study do its job and see whether the project is a valid consideration before throwing our emotions into the mix.
Make no mistake, central Indiana needs additional water resources. One only has to look at the watering bans and brown lawns of summer to understand that this need is growing. . .
I think there are better ways to pull Anderson up from the bootstraps rather than ruining the White River Valley's environment.
They won't even be thought of or considered, though.
Quote from: Y on December 24, 2014, 02:40:19 PM
I think there are better ways to pull Anderson up from the bootstraps rather than ruining the White River Valley's environment.
They won't even be thought of or considered, though.
I don't think I will have to even worry about in my life time. :biggrin: The lake thing will be just like the landfill thing. :yes: A money maker for the lawyers. :biggrin: