Indianapolis doesn’t make the national water-crisis headlines the way Flint or Jackson do. But Indiana’s capital — home to nearly 900,000 people in the city proper and 2 million in the metro area — has a set of water quality problems that deserve serious attention.
Citizens Energy Group, the public charitable trust that operates the city’s water utility, draws from a mix of surface water (White River, Fall Creek) and groundwater wells. That combination of sources, combined with aging infrastructure and industrial history, creates a layered set of challenges.
PFAS: The Emerging Threat
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been detected in Indianapolis-area water sources. Indiana’s Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has been conducting statewide sampling of public water systems under EPA’s Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5), and results have shown detectable levels of several PFAS compounds in central Indiana water supplies.
The concern isn’t limited to the municipal system. Private wells in Marion County and surrounding counties face potential PFAS exposure from industrial sites, firefighting training areas that used AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam), and areas around the former Indianapolis International Airport.
EPA finalized its first-ever national drinking water standard for six PFAS compounds in April 2024, setting maximum contaminant levels of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS individually. Public water systems have until 2029 to comply — and treatment upgrades will cost millions.
Lead Service Lines: A Massive Replacement Mandate
Like many Midwestern cities — including Cleveland and Cincinnati — built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Indianapolis has an extensive network of lead service lines connecting water mains to homes.
Citizens Energy Group has estimated that approximately 80,000 to 100,000 lead service lines remain in their distribution system. Under EPA’s revised Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), finalized in 2024, utilities must replace all lead service lines within 10 years — a mandate that will cost Indianapolis hundreds of millions of dollars.
The utility has been conducting a service line inventory and beginning replacements, but at the current pace, meeting the 10-year deadline requires dramatic acceleration. Older neighborhoods on the near east side, near south side, and other pre-1950 housing areas are most affected.
Corrosion control treatment keeps lead levels within compliance limits for now. But any disruption in water chemistry — as Flint’s crisis proved — can cause lead to leach from pipes at dangerous levels.
Combined Sewer Overflows: A $3.8 Billion Problem
Indianapolis has one of the most significant combined sewer overflow (CSO) problems in the United States. The city’s century-old system combines stormwater and sanitary sewage in the same pipes. During heavy rain, it overflows — sending untreated sewage directly into the White River, Fall Creek, Eagle Creek, and Pleasant Run.
Before the city began its long-term control plan, Indianapolis experienced an estimated 7 to 8 billion gallons of combined sewer overflows annually. Under a federal consent decree with EPA, Citizens Energy Group is building the DigIndy tunnel system — a massive deep-rock tunnel network designed to capture overflow during storms.
The DigIndy project, approaching $3.8 billion, includes over 28 miles of tunnels bored 250 feet below the city. Construction began in 2017 and continues through the late 2020s. Once complete, the system should eliminate approximately 97% of CSO events.
Until it’s finished, billions of gallons of diluted sewage continue to enter Indianapolis waterways every year.
Groundwater Contamination Sites
Indianapolis has several active EPA Superfund and state cleanup sites affecting groundwater:
- Reilly Tar & Chemical (Maywood) — One of Indiana’s oldest Superfund sites. This former coal tar processing facility contaminated shallow groundwater with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) near residential areas on the southeast side.
- Southside Landfill — Groundwater monitoring has detected VOCs migrating from this former municipal landfill.
- White River corridor industrial sites — Decades of manufacturing along the river have left a legacy of groundwater contamination.
IDEM maintains a registry of contaminated sites, but cleanup timelines often stretch decades.
What Indianapolis Residents Can Do
If you’re on the Citizens Energy Group system, your water is treated and tested regularly — but that doesn’t eliminate all risk, especially from lead service lines.
- Check your service line. Contact Citizens Energy Group to find out if your home connects through a lead service line. They maintain an online lookup tool.
- Flush your tap. If your home has lead pipes or solder, run the cold water for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before drinking, especially after water has sat for hours.
- Get your water tested. Indiana offers free lead testing for drinking water in certain situations. Third-party labs can test for PFAS and other contaminants.
- Consider a certified filter. NSF/ANSI 53-certified filters remove lead. For PFAS, look for NSF/ANSI P473 or 58 (reverse osmosis) certification.
If you’re on a private well in the Indianapolis metro area, testing is your responsibility. IDEM recommends annual testing for bacteria and nitrates at minimum.
The Bottom Line
Indianapolis is investing billions to fix its sewer overflow problem, and faces a massive lead service line replacement mandate. PFAS adds another layer of complexity and cost.
The water meets federal standards today. But “meets standards” and “optimal quality” aren’t the same thing, and the infrastructure challenges ahead will test both the utility’s capacity and ratepayers’ willingness to fund what’s needed.
If you’re concerned about your water quality, a certified water treatment professional can test your water and recommend solutions tailored to your situation.