Mounds Lake project likely stalled after Daleville vote

The Daleville Town Council has voted unanimously not to join a commission that would oversee a proposal for a $450 million reservoir on the White River in central Indiana.

The council voted Monday night against joining the commission, which would oversee a feasibility study for the proposed 2,100-acre Mounds Lake reservoir.

The commission can't go forward as currently written without Daleville's participation, The Herald Bulletin of Anderson and The Star Press of Muncie reported.

Anderson, Chesterfield and Madison County officials have already voted to join the commission.

The Muncie City Council, Delaware County Council and Delaware County commissioners have all voted to oppose the project.

A feasibility study is expected to cost $28 million.

Rob Sparks, who is leading efforts to build the reservoir, said supporters still think the project is viable, and that the commission's structure "needs to change."

The reservoir would be formed by damming the White River in Anderson. Supporters say the development could bring investment and help with water needs, while opponents argue it would waste millions of dollars, destroy wildlife habitat and threaten historic sites, including some in Anderson's Mounds State Park.