City of Angola, Indiana

January 2025 update from Tom:

Work on the study has recently been on hold while the city solicited volunteers with private wells to participate in a groundwater monitoring network. Seven volunteers have since been identified, and visits were made to each well location to evaluate whether the sites were suitable for installation of acoustic sensors on the wellheads. Five of the seven sites proved suitable.

Wellntel, a technology company from Wisconsin, has been contracted to provide and install monitoring equipment at the sites and provide 5 years of monitoring support. INTERA and Wellntel personnel are scheduled to begin installation of the sensors on February 5th. The monitoring system will collect and transmit real-time groundwater level data. The five-year record of groundwater levels will allow annual and seasonal changes to the groundwater system to be observed and provide a baseline for assessing changing conditions that could impact the city or county water supplies. As the groundwater system is directly connected to the many lakes and streams surrounding Angola, the network will act as a sentinel system for monitoring the health of the water resources of the county. The monitoring network will begin providing groundwater level data to the city by the end of February.

Data from the network will supplement groundwater monitoring being conducted by the United States Geological Society (USGS), on-going surface water quality monitoring conducted by the Steuben County Lakes Council, and surface water discharge monitoring conducted by the St. Joeseph River Basin Commission.

Questions regarding the monitoring network or study may be directed to Tom Selman, Water Superintendent for the City of Angola at water@angolain.org.

Angola hosted a Public Meeting on Water Availability Study

Approximately 90 people attended a public meeting on January 18th from INTERA. Click HERE or the image below to view the presentation.

Water Department request for Study

In May of 2022 the Angola City Council approved a water department proposal to investigate water availability in Steuben County and potential limitations on the availability of water for industry, agriculture, and public supply.  INTERA, Incorporated, a consulting firm specializing in water resources analysis and aquifer protection, was hired to conduct the study.

On January 18, 2023, Jack Wittman, VP of INTERA will provide a project update to the public.  The presentation will include the following:

• A discussion of the hydrology of Steuben County and the relationship between lake levels, stream discharge, groundwater levels, and water withdrawals in the region.

• Results of the water availability assessment conducted for watersheds in the county, along with a discussion of the characteristics of water withdrawals for public supply, industry, and agriculture in the county. 

• An assessment and discussion of potential threats to water availability in the county, including expanding water use for industry and agriculture, increasing withdrawals in Ohio, and a changing climate. 

• A discussion of on-going work to develop an aquifer and surface-water monitoring network in Steuben County. The network will provide real-time data to assess the status of water resources in the region, and a tool to assess the impacts of potential threats.

The aquifer monitoring network will consist of sensor equipment installed in private homeowner wells.  The equipment is non-invasive, non-disruptive, and provides direct online access to real-time water levels in the well for each volunteer participant.  Private well owners who are interested in participating in the network are encouraged to attend.