Group making progress on waterway project

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – There’s now an update from an organization working to make the waterways around Indianapolis cleaner and more accessible. In 2017,  Partners for the White River received nearly $5 million in grant money that they are now using to improve the waterways in Marion County.

That grant has lead to some changes over the last year. Specifically, there is now more access to the six major waterways in Marion County: Central Canal, Fall Creek, Little Eagle Creek, Pleasant Run, Pogue’s Run, and what many call the crown jewel of the city, the White River. The White River was known as a river that was best seen and not experienced, the group, Reconnecting to Our Waterways, (ROW), is trying to change that. 

With the grant money over the last year, groups have made an impact on the environment and education of of the local waterways.  Friends of the White River led 22 guided White River Floats. Indiana Humanities, Indiana Wildlife Federation and the Hoosier Environmental Council led eight guided hikes.

The group says the waterways are also cleaner.  White River Alliance has led the effort in organizing nearly 300 storm drains to be cleared. Keep Indianapolis Beautiful has led the effort in almost 3,000 trees and natives planted and 4.4 acres of habitat restoration. ROW is focused on the area within a 10- minute walk (a half-mile) around each waterway, and a connectivity area of a 20-minute bike ride (three miles) around each waterway. Phase 1 of the initiative has been narrowed to communities adjacent to the waterways that have a quality of life plan, a strong community engagement network and existing relationships with key initiative partners.

To learn more about the different phases of the project, click here.