IPL inks deal for Lake Monroe water

An approved deal between Indianapolis Power & Light and the Indiana Natural Resources Commission will draw 325.9 million gallons of water annually from Lake Monroe.

But this shouldn’t raise alarm, officials said.

"This individual item is not particularly important in itself," said David Cable, operations manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in charge of Lake Monroe’s water level. "It’s when you have 15 or 20 or a hundred of these agreements that the cumulative effect would have an impact. That’s when we’d have to start looking at what to do to maintain our pool."

Indianapolis Power & Light plans to use the water only in case of a severe drought that would dry up the East Fork White River in southern Indiana.

Check tomorrow's IDS for the full story.