Citizens Energy Group offers to buy Whitestown’s water utilities system for $37M

WHITESTOWN, Ind. (WISH) – Citizens Energy Group is offering to buy Whitestown’s water utilities system for $37 million and lower monthly water rates for Whitestown customers. 

Whitestown officials gathered three appraisals for the system. An engineering appraisal totaled $83 million, and two market appraisals came in at $38 million. 

Nine speakers joined public comment during a public hearing Tuesday, raising questions over the motivation to sell, how billing would change, and how the money from the sale would be used. 

Income from the sale will go to debt service, then remaining dollars could go to other projects, according to Whitestown Council President Dan Patterson. Patterson suggested the money could help pay for a new fire truck or offset a loss of state funds under the new Indiana budget. 

Former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Whitestown resident, spoke in favor of the sale. Ballard’s administration oversaw the sale of the Indianapolis water and wastewater utilities to Citizens Energy Group. 

“They’ll do it better than we will do it,” Ballard said. 

Citizens Energy Group has agreed to lower rates under a sale, dropping monthly bills. 

In a side-by-side water bill comparison, Citizens estimated a $44.69 per month water bill for 5,000 gallons of water use if Whitestown officials decide to sell. 

If the utility is kept under Whitestown, the bill would increase to $54.18 per month, or $66.47 for “outside customers,” who are on the Whitestown water system, even though they’re not within the town’s limits. 

All of Whitestown’s water is already provided by Citizens from the White River Watershed after the town abandoned its water treatment plant and wells in 2008. 

During Tuesday’s hearing, a Whitestown official said the town’s current average daily water usage hovers around 1.6 million gallons per day (MGD), peaking around 3.5 MGD during high usage.

With Whitestown’s population expected to rapidly grow in the coming years, the town is in negotiations to increase its daily water capacity from 4 MGD to 6 MGD. Those negotiations sparked discussions of a sale because the increase would cost Whitestown $20 million (not including any infrastructure improvements), according to officials.

Both Whitestown and Citizens officials said relying on local groundwater was not realistic. 

If the sale is approved, Whitestown would still handle its own wastewater. Residents would receive two separate bills. Citizens said no Whitestown water utilities employees would lose their jobs. 

Whitestown Councilmember Eric Nichols assured the goal is to make sure residents have “safe, reliable drinking water.”

On July 22, at 6 p.m., the Whitestown Town Council will hold another special session to have a first reading on the sale ordinance inside the Whitestown Municipal Complex. 

There will be a second reading on the ordinance during the council’s August 13 regular meeting. 

Two public engagement sessions are scheduled. The first on July 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Fire Station 272 (6800 S Indianapolis Road, Whitestown, Indiana), the second on July 29 at 6 p.m. at the Whitestown Municipal Complex (6210 Veterans Drive, Whitestown, Indiana). Residents and business owners will have the chance to hear a presentation and ask questions about the sale. 

If the Whitestown Town Council accepts Citizens’ bid, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission would need to approve the purchase. 

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