In a report published 13 October 2026, Lebanon Utilities was considering Prairie Creek as an alternative discharge point for treated wastewater serving the LEAP district, shifting attention away from Eagle Creek as the utility prepares for major industrial development including Meta’s $10 billion hyperscale data center campus and Eli Lilly and Co.’s $4.5 billion Lilly Medicine Foundry Mirror Indy.
Key Takeaways
- Lebanon Utilities is evaluating Prairie Creek, which eventually flows into Sugar Creek, as a possible discharge point for treated LEAP district wastewater Mirror Indy.
- If Prairie Creek is selected, the utility would build a new treatment plant and release the treated water into the creek Mirror Indy.
- A draft engineering report assessed how approximately 1.9 additional inches of water could affect flood flows, flood elevation, channel stability and flood storage in Prairie Creek Mirror Indy.
- Lebanon Utilities expects the report could take several months to finalize, and the discharge location must be chosen before construction can begin as soon as 2028 Mirror Indy.
Prairie Creek Under Review
Preliminary engineering reports for Lebanon Utilities’ wastewater plant upgrades had placed the discharge location and other treatment structures on land within Eagle Creek Park, between Interstate 65 and Lafayette Road Mirror Indy. After pushback from Indianapolis officials and community members, Lebanon Utilities General Manager Ed Basquill said in a notice released May 1 that the discharge location would not be within the park limits Mirror Indy.
The utility is now examining Prairie Creek, which eventually flows into the larger Sugar Creek in west central Indiana Mirror Indy. If selected, Lebanon Utilities would construct a new treatment plant for water used by LEAP district businesses and discharge the treated water into the creek Mirror Indy.
At a Lebanon Utilities Service Board meeting on September 23, Wastewater Operations Manager Ryan Ottinger said the utility commissioned the Boone County Surveyor’s Office to prepare a report on how plant discharges would affect Prairie Creek Mirror Indy. The report by Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC, examined how approximately 1.9 additional inches of water in the creek could affect flood flows, flood elevation, channel stability and flood storage Mirror Indy.
Decision Timeline and Supply Implications
The engineering report remains in draft form and is expected to receive more input from Indianapolis-based Wessler Engineering and BF&S Civil Engineers, firms involved with the plant expansion Mirror Indy. Lebanon Utilities expects finalization could take several months, while the discharge location must be decided before the treatment plant is built as soon as 2028 Mirror Indy.
Citizens Energy Group plans to provide up to 25 million gallons of water per day to Lebanon Utilities from Indianapolis sources by 2031, but says selecting Prairie Creek would not reduce the amount of water available to Indianapolis Mirror Indy. “While sustainable best practice traditionally favors returning wastewater to its specific watershed of origin — Lebanon Utilities potentially discharging this new volume of wastewater to Prairie Creek would not impair the Central Indiana water resources which provide our water supply, nor would it impair the ability of Citizens Energy Group to provide drinking water for our customers now or in the future,” said Ben Easley, Citizens Energy Group’s corporate and public affairs coordinator Mirror Indy.
Eagle Creek Park Advisory Committee member Lou Ann Baker said she hoped the utility would base its decision on science and data and keep the public involved Mirror Indy. “You’ve invested millions of dollars in studies, analysis and engineering. Surely you have a plan at this point, and surely you have confidence in that plan to be able to share it with the public,” she said Mirror Indy.
Specification Read
The reported project scale is 25 million gallons of water per day, equivalent to approximately 94,627 cubic metres per day; however, the source does not report a corresponding population equivalent, plant duty cycle, design flow, wastewater characteristics or treatment capacity Mirror Indy. That missing design basis limits direct comparison with an operating plant’s inflow, organic loading and unit-by-unit treatment sizing.
For a plant handling this scale of industrial wastewater, a conventional treatment train would typically move from screening and primary clarification to biological treatment, then tertiary polishing and disinfection, with dissolved-air flotation or zero-liquid-discharge processes added where the discharge specification requires them. The reported project bears most directly on wastewater collection, equalization, treatment capacity and receiving-water discharge design because the discharge route remains under review and no equipment configuration has been specified Mirror Indy.
If your plant looks like a high-flow industrial wastewater facility approaching 94,627 m³/day, with comparable BOD/COD loading and discharge constraints, this matters because the receiving-water and hydraulic assessment must be coordinated with the treatment train rather than treated as a separate siting exercise Mirror Indy.
For municipal systems planning industrial growth and regional discharge, the municipal wastewater market guide provides relevant planning context, while Industries We Serve maps the same infrastructure questions to major industrial users.
FAQ
What treatment capacity has been reported for the LEAP district project?
The supplied report does not give a treatment-plant capacity, design flow, average daily wastewater flow or population equivalent. It reports that Citizens Energy Group plans to supply up to 25 million gallons per day by 2031 and that the new plant would serve water used by LEAP district businesses, but it does not equate that supply figure with the wastewater plant’s required capacity Mirror Indy.
When will Lebanon Utilities select the discharge location?
No selection deadline is reported, but the utility expects the Prairie Creek engineering report could take several months to finalize. Lebanon Utilities must decide where to discharge treated water before the treatment plant is built as soon as 2028, making the draft assessment and further engineering input part of the immediate siting decision Mirror Indy.
What will the treatment process include?
The source does not identify a treatment train or equipment package. It says only that Lebanon Utilities would build a new treatment plant if Prairie Creek is selected, while a draft report evaluates receiving-water effects on flood flows, flood elevation, channel stability and flood storage Mirror Indy.
What should suppliers clarify before selection?
Suppliers would need the final wastewater design flow and load basis, effluent limits, selected receiving water, required treatment stages and the utility’s procurement schedule. Those inputs are not reported; the available information only confirms that the discharge decision must precede construction as soon as 2028 and that further engineering input is expected Mirror Indy.
