By Joe Hamilton—
MUNCIE, IN — Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District (DCSWCD) today announced the launch of a new website (whiterivereci.com) dedicated to White River in East Central Indiana, giving the community a central hub to explore the river, learn about its wildlife and history, and get involved in local conservation efforts.
“More than 50 years of continuous water quality monitoring on White River has provided a unique perspective on watershed improvement,” said Joe Hamilton, Vice Chair of Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors. “The work of local farmers, communities, organizations, and countless individuals has made a real difference—not only in water quality, but also in the opportunities people have to fish, paddle, walk, and enjoy the river. As a Soil and Water Conservation District, we’re proud to be part of that long-term effort and committed to continuing the work of protecting and improving White River for future generations.”
The new site is organized around three central pillars: Explore, Learn, and Protect. Under Explore, visitors will find maps, launch points, and trip-planning tools to help them find their way to the river and the 5.6-mile paved greenway trail that runs alongside it. The Learn section offers a closer look at the river’s fish and wildlife, its history, and the community behind it. And Protect provides guidance on responsible recreation along with an inside look at the watershed work being done to keep the river healthy.
It also features a live current conditions dashboard, pulling real-time gage height and streamflow data from the U.S. Geological Survey alongside local weather, so paddlers, anglers, and other visitors can check conditions before they head out on the water.
White River’s story has long been tied to Delaware County’s industrial rise. As Muncie grew into a manufacturing hub in the late 1800s and 1900s, the river absorbed the impact of that rapid growth, and by the 1970s, it needed help. The community responded. Beginning with early water quality research at Ball State University in the late 1960s and the creation of the Muncie Sanitary District’s Bureau of Water Quality in 1972, Delaware County has spent 50 years continuously monitoring the river’s health, work that has helped drive a $160 million investment in restoring and protecting the waterway. The results speak for themselves. Thirty miles of river now run through Delaware County supporting 80 fish species and counting, a sign of an ecosystem that continues to rebound.
That progress hasn’t stayed confined to the water. As water quality has improved, the river has grown into a recreational anchor for the community, complemented by the 5.6-mile paved greenway trail that now runs alongside it in Muncie. Residents are connected to the river in ways that weren’t possible a generation ago.
“Fifty years of monitoring and a lot of collaboration is what got us here,” said Hamilton. “The river’s health has come a long way, and you can see it in the fact that people are out there enjoying it for recreation now.”
White River is ready to be discovered. DCSWCD invites the residents and visitors to visit whiterivereci.com and see it for themselves. The site was built in partnership with Muncie-based marketing and branding agency Intersection.
About Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District
Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District works to conserve and protect the natural resources of Delaware County, Indiana, including the White River watershed, through education, monitoring, and community partnership.
