Tippecanoe County commissioners are preparing to vote next week on whether to extend a moratorium that restricts large-scale water transfers and high-volume radial collector wells within the county. The measure, first enacted in December 2023, was designed to curb attempts to divert massive amounts of groundwater to developments outside the region.
At the heart of the debate is the controversial LEAP Innovation and Research District in Boone County, a sprawling 9,000-acre project backed by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC). Early versions of the LEAP plan called for drawing up to 100 million gallons of water per day from aquifers near the Granville Bridge area of the Wabash River, roughly seven miles downstream from downtown Lafayette. That proposal sparked a wave of local opposition and led to the moratorium as a safeguard.
Since then, state lawmakers have stepped in, passing legislation to establish new guardrails around water transfers between watersheds. Governor Mike Braun reinforced that stance earlier this year at a town hall at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, stating he would not support reviving any plan that shifts water from one watershed to another, warning that such moves would be “robbing from an area.”
Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh said there are no immediate threats resembling the LEAP pipeline plan, but argued the moratorium still serves an important role. “There’s just no real reason to not have it in place,” Murtaugh said.
The moratorium specifically:
• Prohibits exporting “high volumes of water” – defined as more than 5 million gallons per day – outside Tippecanoe County.
• Blocks installation of new high-volume radial collector wells, which can pump more than 1 million gallons a day by drawing water from a wider subsurface area.
The current moratorium was last extended in 2024 and is set to expire on Sept. 3, 2025. If approved, the new measure would push the restriction forward for another year.
The commissioners will take up the proposal at their meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette.