Geist Reservoir is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
in the northeastern part of metropolitan
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, United States. It was constructed in 1943 by damming
Fall Creek to provide water for Indianapolis. Upon completion, Geist Reservoir was the second-largest man-made lake in Indiana, providing approximately of water. The reservoir is located primarily in the northeast corner of Indianapolis and the southeast corner of
Fishers
Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral.
Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to:
Places
Australia
*Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland
*Elect ...
, but small parts reach into the nearby towns of
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
,
Fortville, and
McCordsville.
History
Geist Reservoir was named after
Clarence H. Geist
Clarence Henry Geist (1866 – June 12, 1938) was an American financier who played an important role in the early history of Boca Raton, Florida.
Biography
Clarence Geist was born and raised on a farm in LaPorte County, Indiana. When he was 18 he ...
, a former owner of the
Indianapolis Water Company, who foresaw a deficit in Indianapolis's water supply and envisioned the Geist Reservoir to preemptively address the problem. Planning for the reservoir began as early as 1913, when
hydraulic engineer
Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...
s estimated that
White River and Fall Creek would not provide enough water for the increasing needs of Indianapolis. Geist gradually bought some in the Fall Creek Valley in the 1920s and 1930s, including the small town of Germantown, which today lies at the bottom of the reservoir. Although controversial, the reservoir was completed in 1943, five years after Clarence Geist's death. In the 1960s further controversy arose over plans for commercial and residential development in the area around the lake. A proposal in the 1970s to triple the size of the reservoir was defeated, and a housing boom began in the lake area.
In recent years the Geist area has experienced rapid growth. The area is noted for its topography and the reservoir. In recent years the reservoir has experienced problems with
algal blooms
An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompa ...
and invasive aquatic species.
As the result of a series of sales, the water company and the reservoir are now owned by
Citizens Energy Group.
Description
Geist Reservoir Dam is located at the lake's southern end. Fed by Fall Creek on the north, the lake overflow is directed into the creek again at the south. The earthen dam is high, with an overall length of . The reservoir capacity is 60,000
acre-feet
The acre-foot is a non- SI unit of volume equal to about commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, sewer flow capacity, irrigation water, and river flows.
An acre-f ...
(74,000,000 m
3), although normal storage is 21,180 acre-feet (26,100,000 m
3). The reservoir is mostly rather shallow ( or less); the depth at the dam is and the maximum depth is .
Geist Reservoir covers
and spans three counties in Indiana (
Marion Marion may refer to:
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*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
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*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
,
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
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* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
, and
Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
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* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
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* Hancock, Missouri
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** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
), four voting precincts, three school districts (
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
,
Hamilton Southeastern, and
Mt. Vernon), and features five different
ZIP codes (46037, 46256, 46236, 46040, 46055). The area has undergone rapid development and some high-valued homes now line the reservoir's waterfront.
Citizens Reservoir
In 2019, Citizens Energy Group began work to convert a former limestone quarry adjacent to Geist Reservoir into a supplemental reservoir named Citizens Reservoir. Situated near the southern shore of the north end of Geist, the new reservoir covers and is deep. It holds , equal to almost half the capacity of Geist Reservoir itself. Up to a day can be diverted into Citizens Reservoir when Geist Reservoir is full instead of going over the latter's spillway. When needed, up to a day can be pumped from Citizens back into Geist.
Construction was completed in 2020, and the reservoir was filled by early 2021.
The limestone quarry was previously owned by Irving Materials Inc. and had operated for 50 years before closing in 2018. Citizens Energy spent over $20 million on the project.
See also
*
List of dams and reservoirs in Indiana
Following is a list of dams and reservoirs in Indiana.
All major dams are linked below. The National Inventory of Dams defines any "major dam" as being tall with a storage capacity of at least , or of any height with a storage capacity of .
Da ...
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Reservoirs in Indiana
Geography of Indianapolis
Protected areas of Marion County, Indiana
Protected areas of Hamilton County, Indiana
Protected areas of Hancock County, Indiana
1943 establishments in Indiana
Dams in Indiana
Dams completed in 1943
United States privately owned dams
Bodies of water of Marion County, Indiana
Bodies of water of Hamilton County, Indiana
Bodies of water of Hancock County, Indiana