We need your assistance in keeping our rivers clean.

Become a Drain Stormer and sign up for Clean The Drains Day (9.23.23)!

We need to keep our storm drains clean of trash and debris and prevent it from going directly into our rivers.

Remember Only Rain in the Drain! We can all be river smart! Get involved and do your part!

Clean Drains Appears on Primetime on PBS Fort Wayne

Learn How to Mark the Drains Video

Be River SmART is a three-year collaborative initiative between Friends of the Rivers and Fort Wayne City Utilities. Clean Drains is an education and community outreach/engagement initiative that uses art to convey the message… only rain in the drain! Get involved today to protect our rivers! 

Why Protect Our Rivers?

Fort Wayne’s vibrant riverfront and waterways are essential to the region’s high quality of place. It is important for the Fort Wayne community to learn about and engage in protecting our city’s three rivers from pollutants.

Fort Wayne is connected to its three rivers through a network of storm drains (23,000) located along the city’s streets throughout its urban core and outlying neighborhoods. This maze-like system of drains and sewer pipes move water away from the streets and sidewalks and into the rivers.

If this critical water passage system is not protected then pollutants, chemical run off and solid waste that enters any of the city’s storm drains will make its way directly into our rivers and will have a negative impact on this vital and precious natural resource.