White River’s cleanliness journey getting big boost from Dig Indy system

INDIANAPOLIS — On a hot Thursday afternoon, a group of high school and middle school students are getting ready to launch two rafts into the White River at the Rocky Ripple Town Hall.

”It’s beautiful out there and it’s a great time,” said 16-year-old Josh Rondinelli.

Rondinelli is one of the teens taking the four-mile trip down river with the Friends of the White River’s Water Connection Camp.

”I’ve learned a lot about ecosystems, plants,” Rondinelli said. “I’ve learned a lot about animals.”

From the view on the bank of the White River on Thursday morning, Rondinelli and his group were some of the only ones on the river.

That’s why Eddie Gill, Executive Director of Friends of the White River, is trying to get more people out and floating. 

”It’s hard to care about something you’ve never experienced,” Gill said.

The lack of river activity comes partly from the river’s dirty reputation from years of mistreatment.

”Dating back to the 1800s, the river was where Indianapolis dumped everything, so the stigma was well deserved, in a sense,” Gill said. “But we’ve come a long way since then and the river is perfectly safe to recreate in now.”

Years of clean-up efforts from environmental groups, city and state efforts have gotten the White River to this point.

”If you live in the greater Indianapolis area, chances are your household water comes from the White River, so we should do what we can to protect it and enjoy it,” Gill said.

The White River and other Indianapolis waterways should soon get even cleaner. The Dig Indy system is set to go fully online by the end of the year. The system is made up of 28 miles of underground tunnels that collect sewer overflow during heavy rainfalls.

”The easy way to think about it is when we would get big rainfalls, which we’re getting more and more of as of late, raw sewage would pour into the river because our infrastructure couldn’t support the amount of rain we’re getting,” Gill said. “So, the Dig Indy project now combats that and redirects the raw sewage into deep tunnels that give our water treatment plants time to catch up.”

Gill and his crew ended their float just before the 30th St Bridge. That’s where Daniel Woody, the General Manager of Frank’s Paddlesport Livery, is set up.

”I think a lot of people, when they come out for the first time, are surprised they have such a beautiful resource right in their backyards,” Woody said.

Since 2023, Frank’s has sent people on kayaks, canoes and standup paddleboards down the White River. The people running the business, though, have been familiar with the White River and its quest for cleanliness for much longer.

”Really, for the past few decades it’s been known as a dirty river, something that’s been kind of infested with sewage and bacteria,” Woody said. “People were afraid of it, and they still are, but they don’t really realize what beauty is out here and what the water quality really is.”

Woody said he’s watched more people come out as the river has gotten cleaner and seen the water clarity come back.

”The last few years, you’ll see bald eagles, blue herons, river otters, all kinds of flora and fauna that is native to this area, that were not here 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago, that are starting to fully come back,” Woody said.

Once the Dig Indy system is fully operational, it’s expected to keep 5 billion gallons of raw sewage out of Indy waterways each year.

Both Woody and Gill agree that this, and other environmental efforts, could lead to the White River becoming a much more prominent part of downtown.

”Indianapolis can become a river city, like many other cities in the United States,” Gill said.