Indiana’s plan to bring in groundwater to make microchips sparks fire
When officials in Indiana created a new industrial park to lure major microchip companies to the state, they chose a nearly 10,000-acre site near a thriving metropolis, a major airport and a university research center.
But the area lacks one key ingredient to support the kind of development the state wants to attract: access to the vast quantities of water that microchip makers may need.
Officials came up with a plan to bring in massive amounts of water from an aquifer about 40 miles away. But the plan raised concerns about straining groundwater supplies at the source, leading to widespread calls to scrap the idea, at least until more studies can be conducted.
Last week, state officials said they would do just that, with Gov. Eric Holcomb and other leaders vowing not to move forward with the project until studies could be completed to ensure any withdrawals are sustainable.
“The data – which has yet to be collected – will inform all future decisions,” Governor Holcolmb said in a press release.
The battle in Indiana is an example of increased tension over water as urban growth, industrial demands and flawed regulations collide in communities that are increasingly straining their limited groundwater supplies. Above all is a changing climate and the potential for more erratic weather, including droughts like the one that parched the state in 2012.
Critics say the pipeline plan could cause some residential wells to run dry and overload an aquifer that farmers rely on for irrigation, as well as potentially reduce flows in nearby rivers and streams. Advocates say initial tests show the aquifer contains enough water, and the new investments — including a drug factory to make a rival drug to diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic — would create jobs and boost the economy .
The debate has also exposed how the state’s lack of groundwater regulation could lead to future problems in the region, which is trying to take advantage of the Biden administration’s funding for chip research and development.
“We are not against economic development and growth, we just want to ensure that our citizens in our area are protected and that our precious resources are protected,” said Indiana State Representative Sharon Negele.
Indiana leaders have been courting semiconductor companies in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan in hopes of turning the state into a microchip hub. But making chips requires enormous amounts of water to avoid contamination.
The Central Indiana Industrial Park is located in Lebanon, Ind., surrounded by corn and bean fields. Water is increasingly in demand there, not only because of population growth in nearby Indianapolis, but also because of a gravel mining industry that uses significant amounts of water to cool stone during cutting and to keep dust at bay.
The plan from officials with a quasi-public economic development corporation would transport water from an aquifer beneath the Wabash River in Tippecanoe County to the new industrial park, which is in an area that lacks significant access to rivers and lakes or to adequate groundwater .
Officials have said they can transfer as much as 100 million gallons per day, an amount that Rep. Negele called it ‘shocking’. By comparison, she says, the city of Lafayette, Indiana, with more than 71,000 residents, uses 17 million gallons per day.
“The state seems to have pretty much targeted us, and they’re using our money to fight us and steal the water,” said Jeff Findley, a retired well driller who lives in Tippecanoe County and leads an opposition group to the project . .
Indiana allows most groundwater users pump as much as they want. Because many parts of the state have access to sufficient water, regulation largely comes after a crisis has hit, Rep. Negele said.
It’s a pattern seen in other states. This year, a New York Times investigation into groundwater regulations across the country found that a patchwork of state and local rules was so lax and outdated that oversight is virtually nonexistent in many places. Groundwater is being dangerously depleted nationwide, The Times discovered a problem exacerbated by climate change.
Indiana regulators are tracking major groundwater users by requiring them to record and self-report their annual withdrawals. But the state has relatively few monitoring wells to monitor groundwater levels, according to scientists. And responsibility for water issues is divided among different government agencies.
Land is being prepared in Boone County where the industrial park, called LEAP for Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace, would be located.
Eli Lilly and Company announced plans to build two new manufacturing sites there worth $2.1 billion to make weight-loss drugs, among other things. Lilly plans to get its water from existing sources in Lebanon instead of relying on water pipes, a company spokeswoman said.
Potential chipmakers would need significantly more water. Indiana is still hurt from being passed over last year by Intel, which chose Ohio as its location a $20 billion chip facility.
In November, after complaints about a lack of transparency at the economic development agency, Gov. Holcomb the responsibility for a groundwater investigation shifted to the Indiana Finance Authority. Him too announced plans for a broader regional water study of North Central Indiana, as well as installing new water monitoring equipment.
The study will provide data “to better understand the amount of excess water that is actually available to support the growth of the surrounding region, before taking any action that could inadvertently jeopardize this necessary resource,” the governor said in a November news report. Edition.
His office did not respond to a request for comment. At one news conference last week he said that “not one drop or drop of water will be diverted until we know what volume is needed, not just for that region, but for a larger region in Indiana.”
A spokesperson for the Indiana State Department of Natural Resources, which helps regulate groundwater, declined to comment other than sending links to official websites showing the state’s major water users and a brochure outlining groundwater rules . According to the brochure, the state can limit pumping during droughts and if it determines an aquifer is not being replenished.
Hydrologists say some aquifers can withstand unusually large withdrawals as they recharge from rain and snowmelt. Also, some industrial users of groundwater return it to the watershed. But that wouldn’t be the case for water drawn from Tippecanoe County, opponents say.
The aquifer there supports several large farmers of corn, soybeans, wheat, hay and other crops, which require irrigation because they are grown largely on sandy soils. Carly Sheets, whose husband owns a farm in Granville, Indiana, said officials conducted tests on one well during the summer irrigation season.
“For the first time ever, nearby homes experienced gravel in their filters, grit in their sinks and toilets, reduced water pressure and a hydrogen sulfide odor,” she wrote in an email, adding: “The solution from the state to restore one depleted aquifer is to deplete another.”
In early December, Tippecanoe County commissioners voted to impose a nine-month moratorium on major groundwater withdrawals from the area, a measure intended to halt the project until lawmakers can take action during next year’s legislative session. Representative Negele, among others, plans to push for measures that would create a permitting process for major groundwater users.
Keith Cherkauer, professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University and director of the Indiana Water Resources Research Center, said that under normal conditions it is possible for the aquifer beneath the Wabash River to withstand massive withdrawals. But he is concerned about the drought years.
Large withdrawals during times of drought can draw the river down significantly, he said, and also cause nearby homeowners’ shallow wells to dry up. Most crops in the state are rain-fed, he said, but irrigation has generally been on the rise since the 2012 drought.
“Since the state has no regulations and no permits, there is nothing to stop another and another and another,” he said, referring to users looking to make huge withdrawals. “And at some point you break the aquifer.”