During the Summer of 2007, the reservoir suffered a toxic blue‐green algal bloom. The Geist Lake Coalition was formed in 2000 with the mission of addressing and upholding the longevity of the Geist Reservoir. The ecological health of the reservoir for recreational use became problematic through the 2000s, leading to the formation of two different groups focused on protecting it. On January 2, 2010, Fishers annexed the unincorporated area of Geist after a four-year legal battle with the Geist United Opposition group. Residential development continued expanding, and by the early 2000s, there were around 2,200 up-scale homes lining the reservoir’s banks.

Under the ownership of the Meritor Financial Group of Philadelphia, Shorewood continued to sell lots around Geist through the early 1990s. Shorewood finally began construction of its first two housing developments, Beamreach and Masthead, in 1980. Senator Birch Bayh refused to support it. The proposed project delayed development for almost a decade but was eventually scrapped in 1978 when U.S. It included two new dams that would double the reservoir’s size. In September of that year, Governor Edgar Whitcomb announced the state’s plan to participate in the Army Corps of Engineers’ $52-millon project to expand Geist.

Geist reservoir public access