Current News from ROW - September 2021

ROW convenes community partners to enhance the quality of life through innovation, analysis, cultural advancement and investment along Indy waterways and in neighborhoods.

When it rains, do you notice a bad smell? You may have just caught a whiff of one of Marion County's 28 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) that dump rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial sewage into our waterways. The City of Indianapolis, like many others around the country, uses CSO to manage the city's water infrastructure. Under normal conditions, all the wastewater is transported to a sewage treatment plant and then discharged into the waterways once it has been treated. However, during rain events, the volume of wastewater can exceed the capacity of the CSO, and the untreated stormwater and wastewater are discharged directly into the waterways, like Fall Creek. While the $2 billion Citizens Energy DigIndy Project is adding capacity to Indianapolis' wastewater treatment systems, not all CSOs will be diverted, including one directly along Fall Creek Blvd and Capitol Avenue. The Fall Creek Waterway has recently secured a Supplemental Environmental Project grant to address the remaining CSOs along Fall Creek.

The ROW Fall Creek Waterway accepted the $19,600 of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEP) funding at their July meeting. SEP is a US Environmental Agency (EPA) managed program that directs fines collected from environmental infractions to provide tangible environmental or public health benefits to help alleviate the damage caused to a community.

Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District (MCSWCD) will manage the SEP funding and projects under the guidance of the Fall Creek Committee. The committee has long prioritized green infrastructure efforts and will use the funds to manage two green infrastructure projects along Fall Creek. The SEP funding will create a rain garden along Fall Creek, which will help reduce water pollution by collecting rain and absorbing the water into the ground naturally. The native plants in the rain garden will soak up water and filter out pollutants through their deep roots. The other project under consideration is expanding the invasive species removal and native landscape restoration at Barton Park, which the Fall Creek Waterways has worked on since 2019.

Do you have an idea on how to improve water quality in Fall Creek? Join the conversation at the next Fall Creek Waterway Committee Meeting on Thursday, October 21, or email andrea@ourwaterways.org.

Top photo: a stretch of Fall Creek flows underneath North Capitol Avenue Bridge near one of the CSOs the waterway committee wants to address. Bottom photo: MCSWCD's John Hazelett instructs community members on the benefits of rain gardens, like the one at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds.

This month, ROW recognizes Georgetown Natural Foods Market for its role in serving Indianapolis and the ROW Collective. Georgetown Market has been devoted to helping the Indianapolis community make healthy food choices since 1973 but this year, the locally-owned and operated store has worked closely with our Little Eagle Creek Waterway to connect more to the creek and the community.

On July 24, Georgetown Market hosted its inaugural Community Day event. The day featured a handful of local nonprofits, including ROW and the International Marketplace Coalition (IMC), and was meant to provide a space for community groups, artists, and vendors to connect with the Little Eagle Creek community. Georgetown Market's Director of Sales, Sam Kennedy, worked closely with the Little Eagle Creek Waterway and encouraged the committee to host a Rain Garden Workshop featuring the Market's onsite rain garden. Thanks to support from co-chairs Jeb Bardon and Joan Servaas and ROW's Kelly Brown with assistance from Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District's John Hazelett, Community Day attendees were engaged in a water conservation presentation and took away native plants courtesy of MCSWCD and their Clean Water Indiana grant. In addition to meeting new neighbors, the Little Eagle Creek Waterway was gifted a donation by Georgetown Market from funds raised during the month of July and on Community Day.

Georgetown Market has been a wonderful partner in connecting new audiences to the waterway.

Jeb Bardon, Little Eagle Creek Co-Chair, and Kelly Brown, ROW Metric Manager, host a rain garden and watershed workshop on Community Day.

This month, ROW recognizes intern Raenah Bailey for her contributions to the White River Waterway. Bailey is an Applied Earth Sciences graduate student studying at IUPUI and has worked with ROW since November 2020 thanks to a partnership established by Bailey's research advisor, and former ROW Steering Committee Co-Chair, Gabriel Filippelli.

Bailey, with the White River Waterway, is working on a water quality sensor project that will continuously track important water quality parameters, including pH, temperature, and turbidity. The water quality information then is uploaded to an open-source database, where the data can be used for education through the STEAM Hub at Belmont Beach in addition to data analysis projects with IPS School 63. Bailey shares, "Ultimately, with using the water sensor, I think it is a great opportunity to connect the environment with schools, their students, and the communities that surround the river. Most times, schools are in communities and live in an environment but are often not of communities or the environment because teaching and learning are often disconnected from the day-to-day life of the community, and students don't see the skills they acquire in school have currency beyond the classroom. In the future and when we can get this water sensor out there, it can create a bridge to connect all three together. We can teach about water quality and the ecosystems around the river and why they are so vital for biodiversity and river health. Data collected can be used in science and math classes, and students can see their work at school and how grained skills can translate into their community and environment."

ROW is grateful for Bailey's stewardship and dedication to our waterways, both for her study of water quality and for her vision for a healthy waterway community. In her own words, "Water quality, of course, is important and is my main focus, but I believe we can do much more with the water sensor than putting data in a database for no one but scientists to look at." Thank you, Raenah Bailey!

Photo above: Raenah Bailey conducts fieldwork along a river in Northwest Indiana.

One great way to get involved with ROW is to participate in a Waterway or Element Committee! Find details on the ROW events page or contact andrea@ourwaterways.org for meeting locations and to get connected.

ROW is pleased to announce that Mo McReynolds, Community Engagement Manager for the City of Indianapolis, was elected as its new Steering Committee Co-Chair during its September 10 meeting.

McReynolds first became involved with ROW during her time at Newfields, where she began engagement with the Central Canal Committee in 2014. Since then, McReynolds has become a passionate volunteer for ROW and has dedicated her time to our Steering Committee's Racial Equity Subcommittee. At the September Steering Committee meeting, McReynolds noted, "I'm very honored to even be considered for this role. I look forward to the challenge, want to advocate for our racial equity group, and want to incorporate more sustainable practices with ROW, as is my job with the City." We are so excited for your leadership, Mo!

ROW also wants to thank our outgoing Co-Chair, CICF's Alphons Van Adrichem, who not only served a two-year term as Co-Chair but has held numerous leadership roles in the Collective, including as Connectivity Co-Chair (now Healthy Connections) and Pleasant Run Co-Chair. McReynolds joins Citizens Energy Rhonda Harper as she continues the first of her two-year term. Thank you, Alphons Van Andrichem, for your incredible leadership and support this last decade!

Above photo: Mo McReynolds (photo via LinkedIn). Bottom photo: Alphons Van Andrichem (photo provided by CICF).

Investing in Green Infrastructure along Fall Creek

Steering Committee Spotlight: Mo McReynolds Elected Co-Chair

Take Action to Improve Our Waterways