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Floating Trash
River trash and debris,
consisting of man-made rubbish and naturally-occurring
items such as wood wastes, deposits on river banks and at
riverside facilities, and accumulates behind locks and
dams. The US Army Corps of Engineers has no facilities
for collection and disposal of this trash, so they
periodically flush it downstream. It eventually sinks,
rots, or ends up in the oceans.
Locally the trash creates
many problems, including:
Visual and odor
pollution;
Water pollution,
hazardous to humans and aquatic life, from
chemicals and hazardous materials in man-made
rubbish;
Health and safety
hazards, for community and industrial water
intakes, swimmers, water skiers, marinas, public
and private docks and launching ramps, and
recreational boaters and river commerce;
Navigation
hazards, for commercial and recreational boaters;
Interference with,
and damage to, locks and dams.
The US Environmental
Protection Agency has an on-line report pertinent to the
floating trash and debris problem. It is Marine
Debris Abatement at http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/debris/
The trash which
accumulates behind the Morgantown Dam has been a public
irritation for many years. As the development of trails,
hotels, and other amenities along the river bank has
accelerated, so has a public sense of outrage. UMRA is
joining with local groups to search for a solution to
this problem.
For several years Tim
Terman has run a trash removal effort using kayaks and a
pontoon boat with volunteers ranging from children to
adults. Tim was selected as one of the Dominion Post
's100 Most Influential Citizens in 2008 in recognition of his efforts. Tim has
proposed installing a trash boom at the Hildebrand Dam to
reduce the amopunt of trash reaching Morgantown. You can read his
proposal.
Dams are not all alike,
even on the navigable portions of the rivers of the
Pittsburgh District. The water flows under
our dam. This is why floating trash accumulates so
readily behind it. On many dams, water flow is over the
dam, and most floating material passes without major
impediment.
It is not unfair to say
"the Corps created our trash problem" as a part
of solving other river problems. Of course, in the 1950s
there were few plastic products and many containers were
returned for refilling. The current problem was not
foreseen.
Community Concern about Floating Trash
News about Floating trash
Port of Houston Receives Award from AAPA for
Floating Trash Skimming Program
- United Marine International PRESS RELEASE - 14 May 2004
Letter To Editor - Dam Trash:
Let's Clean Up the Mon River Soon - Morgantown
Dominion Post - 13 May 2004
Commissioners
Try to Slow Spread of Trash: Anti-Littering Signs are one
Proposed Solution to Persistent Problem Along Mon River
- Morgantown Dominion Post - 29 April 2004
Meeting
Weighs Anchor on Trash: Mixed Results Emerge from Session
on Debris in River and Behind Dam - Editorial
Morgantown Dominion Post - 29 April 2004
Meeting Focuses on River Trash - Morgantown
Dominion Post - 26 April 2004
Area
Officials Continue to Talk Trash - Morgantown Dominion
Post - 22 April 2004
Kids Discuss Trash with Mayor - Morgantown
Dominion Post - April 7, 2004
Trash Talk Continues in Commission - Morgantown
Dominion Post - April 8, 2004
Letter To Editor - Local Resident
Tired Of Garbage Along River - Morgantown
Dominion Post - April 12, 2004
All Dams on River Are Not Equal: Design of Local
Facility Causes Part of the Built Up Debris Field - Morgabtown Dominion Post - March 27,
2004
That Dam Trash: Pileup of Debris in the
Monongahela an Eyesore -
Morgantown Dominion Post - March 23, 2004
Debris Threatens Recreation Site - The Charleston Gazette - January 24, 2004
Officials Hope for River Debris Solution - Morgantown Dominion Post - November
10, 2003
Monongalia Officials Seek Federal Help to Remove
Debris Behind Locks - The
Charleston Gazette - November 10, 2003
Morgantown Council Looks For River Trash
Resolution - Morgantown Dominion
Post - November 4, 2003
County Joins In River Cleanup - Signs Onto
Resolution - Morgantown Dominion
Post - October 16, 2003
County Buys New Recycling Baler: Resolves To
Clean Trash Behind Locks -
Morgantown Dominion Post - October 10, 2003
Development Authority Considers Cleanup Of
Lock-And-Dam Trash - Morgantown
Dominion Post - October 9, 2003
Our Search for a Solution
The Nature of the Trash
There is little hard data
on the trash involved, but we know that it has the
following characteristics:
Material such as
leaves, branches, and trees ends up in the river
as a result of natural processes. From an
environmental perspective, this material is part
of the food chain for river life. Although large
logs may be a hazard to navigation, they provide
important fish habitat.
Organic material
from timber and landscaping operations, and
construction debris, also finds its way into the
river. It is unclear whether this constitutes an
additional resource or a problem.
Much of the most
visible trash consists of light plastic items
such as bottles, balls, and styrofoam. We do not
know how much of this is the result of
intentional dumping (point sources), and how much
results from simple littering and wind and flood
dispersal of materials (non-point sources.)
Large containers
like barrels may be escaped dock flotation, wind
and flood dispersed material, or possibly
intentional disposal of hazardous wastes. *
We have suggested that an
initial phase of a search for a solution should include a
study of trash characteristics, possibly based on video
surveillance at the dams. A video surveillance program
might make be included in a system which also serves
other security needs.
* Barrels are an
interesting sub-category. Most are empty and benign.
Because they are potentially very hazardous, the US Coast
Guard instructs its Auxiliary patrols not to touch them,
but to inform relevant local authorities of their
presence. In most areas such local authorities do not
have the training or equipment required to deal with
them.
Novel Boats That Remove
Trash And Debris From Waterways
There are boats designed
to remove floating trash and debris. As far as we can
tell, none of these has been used in turbulent waters
typical of those near our navigation locks. Our
preliminary estimate is that such a bout would involve an
initial investment of a quarter to half a million dollars
in the boat and support facilities, and an operating cost
of about a hundred thousand dollars a year.
Check out these websites:
Corps of Engineers
Huntington District Debris Control Efforts
The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Huntington District has been a leader in the
study of the trash problem. We have recently received a
copy of the Bluestone Drift and Debris Evaluation
Study published in December 1996. It includes about
200 pages, which we are still reviewing. Bluestone Lake
is of economic concern because a high precentage of West
Virginia's whitewater rafting business is conducted on
the waters down stream.
Congress directed the
Secretary of Defense "to take such measures as are
technologically feasible to prohibit the release of drift
and debris into waters downstream of the project, except
for that organic matter necessary to maintain and enhance
the biological resources of such waters and such
nonobtrusive items of debris as may not be economically
feasibile to prevent being released through such project,
including measures to prevent the accumulation of drift
and debris at the project, the collection and removal of
drift and debris on the segment of the New River upstream
of the project, and the removal (through use of temporary
or permanent systems) and disposal of accumulated drift
and debris at Bluestone Dam. "
This evaluation study
addresses the potential for modification of the Bluestone
Lake project. For the purposes of the report, drift is
defined as natural, woody material, and debris is defined
as man-made refuse. Both can be found floating down the
New River, most notably during flood events. The
legislation concerns the handling of this drift and
debris at the Bluestone project and the development of
technologically feasible measures to address the problems
associated with drift and debris management at the
project. An initial review conducted as a part of this
study has found that the primary source of the drift and
debris management problems at Bluestone are due to a
change of operating pool levels during project
construction 52 years ago and the continuing placement of
solid waste within the floodway of streams by residents
of the region. The interim drift and debris management
technique adopted for the Bluestone project 52 years ago
has proved to be a long-term operating plan, but it is no
longer acceptable because of changed perceptions and
conditions in the region.
The project includes a
multi-level intake tower and tunnel to permit drift and
debris to pass as it reaches the dam, rather than the
current operating procedure of releasing accumulated
drift and debris at summer pool. Low flows at summer pool
cause drift and debris to accumulate just downstream of
the dam and in some areas of the New River Gorge National
River, particularly above Sandstone Falls. The structural
modifications will facilitate downstream material
progression during higher flows. Scheduled for completion
in January 2004, the intake tower and tunnel will allow
drift and debris passage to mimic a more-natural
condition.
Improved Operating
Equipment: The improved equipment includes a new
motorized barge with a crane to allow continuous removal
of bulky and/or obtrusive man-made debris. The new barge
would be fitted with attachments for cutting logs and
pushing floating material to the multi-level release
tower. a Jon boat with motor and trailer to assist with
debris removal and transfer. A 5-ton dump truck to
transport solid waste collected from the lake's surface.
The National Park Service
(NPS), and the West Virginia Department of Environmental
Protection (WVDEP) are working with the Corps on a Public
Awareness Program and a downstream cleanup component
The downstream cleanup
component includes two stages. In the first stage,
partnering with WVDEP, the Corps would address existing
deposition along a 55-mile reach of the New River from
Bluestone Dam to Hawk's Nest State Park. The work
includes manual efforts to pick up man-made debris, water
transportation to access points, loading debris onto
trucks, transport, and appropriate disposal.
Stage Two is a periodic
downstream cleanup. WVDEP and NPS would be responsible
for this effort. WVDEP and NPS participation in stage two
is funding dependent, and not considered a requirement
for commitment of Federal funds for stage one. The
periodic cleanup is merely a plan component which WVDEP
and NPS will continue to implement, and not a
post-project operation and maintenance requirement. Corps
participation will be reflected through increased efforts
to remove man-made debris from the lake surface during
periods of inflow.
UMRA notes that this is a
very expensive operation, and we understand that
underfunding of Corps and NPS budgets, along with WV
funding issues, is drastically hampering efforts in 2004.
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