Map
The Broad Ripple Gazette
Vol. 13 No. 9
Including the Cultural Districts and Midtown: Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington, and Meridian St.
page 18
IMPD Chief Riggs spoke of the troubles Indy sees currently and many ways we can slowly build a better quality of life.
BRVA Spring Social - levees and hope
page 15
Apr 29 - May 12, 2016
One of the SolarBees just downstream from the skimmer and aqueduct, near the entrance to the White River Treatment Plant.
Everything you always wanted to know about the canal... By Alan Hague
By Alan Hague
alan@broadripplegazette.com
alan@broadripplegazette.com It was a packed house at the Indianapolis Art Center for the April 19 Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) Spring Social. BRVA President Kent Springer opened the pre-social public meeting at 6:30pm. Kent described the many functions of the BRVA and each of its committees. He then introduced the Director of the Department of Public Works (DPW) Lori Miser. Miser discussed some of Mayor Hogsett’s programs. She explained that in 2016 DPW will be installing around 400 school zone flashers around the county. These flashing beacons will be programmed to slow traffic to 25 MPH only during a school’s arrival and departure times. They will also be programmed to account for all school breaks. Miser also noted that there are two remaining flood levee phases. Both have been funded. 3B2 is the phase that runs behind the Riviera Club. That construction should begin this fall. The other phase is the Westfield wall and it should begin in 2017. Both phases are expected to be complete in 2018 or 2019. Certification will begin after that. “What happens with Rocky Ripple?” Miser posed. “We have been working very closely with them and continue to do that. The Mayor definitely wants to better understand the options for Rocky Ripple, so we are hiring an engineering firm that’s going to take a look at everything that’s been done, experts from FEMA and other federal agencies that are going to look at what’s been studied, are there things that need to be done, to be looked at, other options for flood relief.” She said that all of this will be directed by Deputy Mayor Jeff Bennett. Next was a presentation on the troubling state of Indy’s transit system and future improvements. Then IMPD Chief Riggs detailed many of his ideas for improving the quality of life in Indy. Many of these ideas sounded very promising. There were drawings for several gift certificates that were awarded to audience members. There was also food and drink supplied by local restaurants. The next public BRVA meeting is also the election of the BRVA board. It is scheduled for October 18.
Part Fifteen For those readers just discovering this series on the canal now in its 15th part, I will explain why the canal is important and why the Gazette is doing this series. The dam that created the Central Canal was built on the White River in 1836 and the Town of Broad Ripple grew up around it. It is why we are here today. For years the canal has supplied the City of Indianapolis with 60% of its fresh water which is processed for our clean water supply.
We continue in this installment discussing where the canal ends, at the White River Treatment Plant located at 1220 Waterway Boulevard, just northwest of 16th and Martin Luther King Jr Street. “One of the questions you asked,” said Ed Malone, Director of Water Production for Citizens, “was what are those things [floating in the canal] with the solar panels... Those are what we call SolarBees.” “They are in the [canal] out here,” I said to Mario Morone, Gazette writer, while pointing to the north end of the White River Treatment Plant. “Back by Pic-A-Part?” asked Edwin Morris, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor for Citizens. Pic-A-Part is the auto salvage yard between the treatment plant and the end of the canal. “Yes,” I replied. Ed added, “Those structures sit out in the water and they are basically mixers.” “Yeah, I think I can see them spinning,” I said. “Yes, we feed carbon into the canal right south of the...right downstream of the aqueduct. So, you know where the aqueduct is?” said Ed. I replied that I had been out on the aqueduct before to take pictures. Ed continued, “Just downstream of the aqueduct, where Aqueduct Drive...if you took Aqueduct Drive directly up to the canal [from 16th Street], that is where we feed carbon. And when I say we feed carbon, as a part of our treatment process we use carbon to remove taste and odor, to remove atrazine, if we were to get hydrocarbons...in other words if a car went into the canal or somebody spilled oil or what not into the canal, we need to get it out of the water. So we use carbon to remove a lot of these things. We use what is called activated carbon to remove that. Granular activated carbon.” “We feed that into the canal just north (upstream) of where those SolarBees are. You’ll see a mixer that’s out there that’s basically churning the water. That’s where the carbon feed point is. And then these mixers (SolarBees), as the water continues to flow downstream from that application point, they keep [the granulated carbon] in suspension to increase the effectiveness of the carbon, so that we gain that whole distance as contact time so that we more effectively remove whatever’s in the water.” I asked, “And then generally as it [travels down the canal] it just settles out to the bottom [of the canal]?” Ed replied, “No. We settle it out in our treatment process in those settling basins [at the north end of the plant].” “So it stays up in the water...,” I followed up. “It stays in suspension all the way through into the settling basin,” said Ed. “What did you call these things again?” I asked.
See CANAL pg. 3
The house was packed for the Spring BRVA meeting at the Indianapolis Art Center.
INDEX
Crossword
1 BRVA Spring Social
5 Local Contacts
8 Classified Ads/Public Notices 14 WIN BR Art Fair tickets
17 Directory / Maps
1 Canal part 15
5 Mistakes winner
9 Wine Scene Jill A. Ditmire
14 Shrek - CFI 84
21 Random Rippling galore
2 Random Rippling The Coil
6 Poetic Thoughts
9 Where in the Village?
14 Random Rippling Junkyard 22 Gettin’ Ripped in Ripple
3 Calendar
6 Buzzing Around Town
10 Round the Ripple
15 Historic Ad
23 Right in my Own Backyard
4 Random Rippling Flood+
7 Broad Ripple Museum
12 Hidden History / Sudoku
15 Crossword
23 Random Rippling wings
4 Random Rippling Urban
7 BR Brewpub Quiz
13 BR Farmers Market
16 Random Rippling RSD
24 Random Rippling Knabe