By THERESA SAILOR
INDOT Certified Technician, Stormwater Coordinator, City of Warsaw

Come get a sneak peak of the storm drain art being painted today in Central Park. Cindy Bryan, art  professor at Grace College is painting one of the storm drains in front of the Central Park pavilion.

Next year as a part of the Clean Water Art Project, she and her art integration students from Grace College will be painting storm drains in downtown Warsaw to increase awareness on the importance of keeping our storm drains clean from grass clippings, chemicals, trash and other pollutants that can easily mix with rain water and melting snow and then enter the storm drain system. The water that enters the storm drains in the streets flows untreated into the lakes and waterways.

The art that is being painted in Central Park now is only a sampling of what is to come in 2016. Next summer Grace College, the Center for Lakes & Streams, and the Warsaw Stormwater Utility will unveil approximately 15 storm drains painted in downtown Warsaw. It is an educational art project intended to educate the community about making good daily decisions to take care of our local waterways.