Summary From Reservoir could threaten Great Mound
The Anderson/Madison County Corporation for Economic Development is proposing construction of a $450 million reservoir that will dam the White River in an area around Mounds Mall and extend in Yorktown in Indiana. This dam will create a 2,100-acre lake with depths greatest at 50 feet. The Indiana Archaeology Council is opposed to the dam project due to possible damage to historic sites with Mounds State Park. Archaeologist Don Cochran, professor emeritus at Ball State University, notes that violates the intent of the park to preserve and restore the natural environment around the ancient mounds. There are between 9 and 12 earthworks remaining at the park and they are believed to date to about 2000 years ago. The mounds within the park known as Anderson Mounds are listed on the National Historic register and were of ceremonial and ritual importance to Native peoples. There is no other known similar sites in Indiana. The Reservoir will cause impact though construction and produce erosion on the bluffs overlooking the White River. Cochran notes that there are three mounds within that shoreline range. Despite mitigation efforts planned erosion would still take place. Within the foot print of the proposed reservoir there are archaeological site still waiting to be documented as well as known sites including burial sites, Delaware villages, the Moravian mission site, an amusement park, and the hydraulic canal.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will have to formally review the planned $450 million Mounds Lake reservoir that would stretch about seven miles from a dam in Anderson, Ball State University biologist Jim Carter said, in light of finding endangered bats in the park.
Summary From Reservoir could threaten Great Mound
