I haven't done White River. It's cleaner than it used to be but...... I'm not sure about kayaking/canoeing thru town. I know there is a canoe rental south of town on White River near Waverly. It's cleaner down there. There is also good canoeing/fishing on Sugar Creek and Big Blue River north of Columbus. This is the Sugar Creek in south central Indiana, not the one near Crawfordsville. With a kayak, why not try Chinook FWA near Brazil? Several nice lakes, cool, deep and CLEAR. Lots of grass and moss but I've caught a few fish there.