The three-year initiative christened Clean Drains Fort Wayne comes to its resoundingly successful conclusion on September 23, 2023.
Fort Wayne City Utilities news release:
“Only Rain in the Drain”
Clean Drains Concludes with Saturday Celebration
Volunteers Step-Up, Unveils Legacy Mural as Permanent Call to ActionFort Wayne, Indiana (September 21, 2023) — The three-year initiative christened Clean Drains Fort Wayne comes to its resoundingly successful conclusion on Saturday, September 23, during Clean Drains Fest, a celebratory, fun-filled afternoon for the entire community at Promenade Park.
While entertainment and enjoyment lead the list of activities, the event puts a capstone on the mission of Clean Drains: to elevate public awareness about our 22,000 storm drains as the gateways to our rivers and the role they play — and every resident can play — in keeping pollution of all kinds out of our waterways.
Ground pollution, including oil, pet waste, trash, lawn pesticide runoff, and heavy metals, can harm our waterways and aquatic life when they enter our storm drains. That’s why Friends of the Rivers and City Utilities began the community-wide Clean Drains Fort Wayne campaign. Clearing and marking thousands of storm drains with reminder medallions were the campaign’s tasks, and the mantra of “Only Rain in the Drain” became its universal call to action.
Over 500 Fort Wayne residents have risen to that challenge this week for Clean the Drains Day. And when the work is complete, it’s time to celebrate.
Clean Drains Fest begins at 1 pm along the Riverfront, with activities for all residents going until 4 pm.
Family-friendly activities will take place throughout the park and on the river that day. Games, interactive pool-noodle sculpture building, music and loads of entertainment will captivate all ages, along with special events each hour:
- At 1:00 pm, Mayor Tom Henry, the Dumpster Drummers, Friends of the Rivers and City Utilities will unveil the Clean Drains legacy mural on the wall of the Nowak Building, just west of Promenade Park. The ceremony will also honor artist Alex Hall and five apprentices, Karen Bulmahn, Laura Monnier, Bonnie Andrews, Debbie Kuntz, and Lily Martin, who created the art commemorating “Only Rain in the Drain”.
- At 2:00 pm, artists who painted neighborhood storm drain murals and affixed reminder medallions, along with the more than 1,000 volunteers who brought Clean Drains Fort Wayne to life, including students and scout members, will be honored at the Sweetwater Bandshell.
- At 2:30 pm, it’s Story Time in the Dining Gardens, as well as Hula Hoopers in the Band Shell.
- At 3:00 pm, bite into the Hot Dog eating contest at Ted’s Snack Bar.
- At 3:30 pm, it’s Pets on the River Paddle Ride Dockside.
- 1–4 pm, visitors can create and add to the artwork of pool noodles being created in the park and enjoy the professional artists’ noodle sculptures anchored in the river near the dock.
- 1–4 pm will feature games and interactive activities hosted by Science Central and the watershed advocacy groups Save Maumee Watershed Alliance, Little River Wetlands Project and Allen County Partnership for Water Quality.
- 45-minute rides on the canal boat Sweet Breeze, for $5, will set sail all weekend, sponsored by SDI:
- Saturday 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm and Sunday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Riders must purchase tickets in advance at https://www.fortwayneparks.org/parks/riverfront/sweetbreeze.html
Clean Drains Fort Wayne has been the three-year partnership between Friends of the Rivers and City Utilities. Using the theme Be River SmART, the campaign created nearly 100 storm drain paintings in neighborhoods across the city to create awareness that whatever goes down our storm drains ends up in our rivers.
Over the course of the volunteer-driven initiative, more than 1,200 residents marked and cleared over 8,000 drains.
The lasting impact on our community is a new sense of ownership of our rivers and the enduring message that everyone in every neighborhood plays a role in protecting our waterways — ponds, streams, creeks and rivers.
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