09/23/2025
Way to go Muncie! The White River has recovered from being a tremendously polluted waterway several decades ago..
On Wednesday, 9/17/2025, the Bureau of Water Quality (BWQ) was awarded the Indiana Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. This award is considered Indiana’s highest honor in environmental stewardship. The BWQ’s freshwater mussel propagation efforts were selected in the “Land Use and Conservation” category which recognizes innovative practices to improve or preserve Indiana’s resources. Known as the “livers of the river” or “ecosystem engineers”, freshwater mussels play a vital role in filtering the White River, removing sediment and excess nutrients, depositing them on the stream bottom. This reduces the amount that moves downstream and provides a food source to our aquatic macroinvertebrates. This fall the BWQ plans to release around 750 mussels from their facility into the White River. Once adults, they will have the capacity to filter 10-15 gallons of water every day! Congratulations to everyone involved in this program and thank you to our partners and collaborators for their generous support!
