Fall Creek/College Avenue
Green Infrastructure Pilot Project
The City of Indianapolis will soon begin construction on a green infrastructure pilot project to improve water quality in Fall Creek. This project, the first of its kind for the city, will use native plants, soil, stone and other natural elements to filter pollutants from storm water before releasing it into Fall Creek. The project also will serve as a model for future green infrastructure projects in Indianapolis.
Green infrastructure helps manage, transport and treat storm water runoff through either the use of natural systems or engineered systems that mimic natural systems. The primary goals are to capture, cleanse and slowly release storm water into rivers and streams.
For this project, the Department of Public Works (DPW) will partially separate combined sewers and redirect storm water to a bioretention cell for treatment. A bioretention cell, similar to a rain garden, is a landscaped area designed to cleanse storm water and remove pollutants.