Cedar Lake hearing concerns about future water capacity
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The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has notified the town of Cedar Lake of concerns it has over the town’s water capacity.
Our partners at Lakeshore Public Media report the agency sent a letter this month noting the town is currently at 92% capacity.
IDEM said the notices of intent it has received since 2020 would increase water connections by more than 30%, including nearly 650 housing units, a restaurant and a business park. The letter said there is “insufficient capacity to serve the additional units Cedar Lake has already agreed to serve” if more water isn’t added.
Cedar Lake Town Council President Nick Recupito said during a utility board meeting last week that IDEM’s concerns validate the council’s moratorium on large-scale developments approved earlier this year.
“We’re actively working on securing locations for production and storage, as well, because we have determined, we agree, we do have a problem,” Recupito said.
While officials work with IDEM to identify possible solutions, the town said it is taking steps to help alleviate the issue, including addressing irrigation and sprinkling, which puts a strain on water pressure.
An ordinance amendment is being considered by the council to allow the town manager or water superintendent to temporarily ban sprinkling during emergencies.
Town Councilor Greg Parker, who also serves on the utility board, emphasized that the water issue is a long-term problem to solve.
“This has been common knowledge since 2017 that we were going to get to a point where we got close,” Parker said. “The can just got kicked down the road for other projects that were more important and more popular.”
Lakeshore Public Media reports the council has agreed to put together a request for proposals to find a planning consultant.