MUNCIE, Ind. (WOWO): The proposed Mounds Lake Reservoir is up for what could be a final round of discussion Monday night in Delaware County. 

County councils in Delaware and Madison Counties are pondering whether to join Anderson, Muncie, Yorktown and Daleville in overseeing the proposed damming of the White River to create an 11-billion-gallon reservoir. The Delaware County Council will meet at 6 PM to devote an entire meeting to public comment on the project. There won‘t be a vote. 

Environmental groups charge the project would destroy a centuries-old river ecosystem. They contend the new system that would be created in the reservoir would be an inadequate substitute. Rob Sparks with Madison County‘s Corporation for Economic Development points to studies warning of potential water shortages in the next six-to-10 years. 

Hoosier Environmental Council senior policy director Tim Maloney contends recent improvements in plumbing efficiency mean those projections are outdated. Sparks says the reservoir could be an economic draw like the Geist and Morse Reservoirs, and point to studies warning of a looming water shortage.