The city of South Bend is federally mandated to increase public awareness of ways people can better protect the St. Joseph River. The city is launching a new public art contest to help get that message out.
The city on Wednesday announced it wants sidewalk murals painted next to a handful of storm drains on Michigan Street downtown. They’re seeking ideas from anyone age 18 and older for designs or imagery.
Jitin Kain is the city’s deputy public works director.
“We want to remind people that the pollutants that enter storm drains make their way into the St. Joseph River. Litter, yard waste, auto fluids," Kain says.
Kain says the city is borrowing the idea from a similar effort in Goshen.
“We have a program called the MS4 Program, stands for municipal separate storm sewer system, which looks at anytime there’s a development or any construction happening in the city, things from that construction site are not making their way into the storm sewer system.”
Selected designs will be painted during the week of May 31 and completed in time for the June 5 First Fridays event. The city will provide the paint for designs covering roughly a three-feet-by-four-feet section, and selected artists will receive $250.
