What's up at Opekiska Dam

My wife and I took a trip to the southwest portion of Monongalia County on Tuesday and stopped by Opekiska Dam. The photos (click them for closer view) I took show a lot of debris ready to come downriver to places like Morgantown. The trees and tree limbs are natural. But look closely at all the bottles, plastic, tires, etc. This shameful. What's worse, little is being done about it. (Please note the US flag and the Corps of Engineers flag flying over this mess across the river).

We try to clean up what we can during the summer months in the Morgantown area. But looking at this was disturbing and, I'll admit, disheartening. That we simply flush this down stream, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, is wrong. It's just wrong. That it's there in the first place is a statement about humans and their ways. It's there. It's waiting to come our way.

But here's the interesting point. There is a crane on top of the dam superstructure, right above this mess. That crane (see below) could dip this stuff up, deposit it on the shore for disposal - probably in two or three days of work. But guess what? The crane doesn't work. That's the word I received from a representative of the Corps of Engineers. So, status quo.

All this is coming down the river, down the river and out into the oceans. The Corps of Engineers doesn't have money to fix the crane, so there's no use discussing it. Seems like the same kinds of answers always come from that direction. Well, perhaps they always have the same kinds of funding problems. I don't know. But I'd be willing to get a petition drive going to get money to fix the crane and get this mess out of the river.



After working in the Morgantown area to clean up the litter since 2005, I now realize that the answer to the problem is here at Opekiska Dam. The litter should be removed here before it even heads down to Hildebrand and Morgantown. I should say the solution to the problem is to not have it in the river in the first place, but that's a long-term effort. For the short term, we need to do something here. And I believe the US Corps of Engineers should be part of the solutions.

I am starting a fundraising effort to pay for next summer and our winter cleanups. The Mon Valley Green Space Coalition is the 501c3 non-profit that takes care of all donations and funds for our river effort. Further funding from the City of Morgantown is doubtful, so our plans to expand and do more river miles of cleanup are in jeopardy. Help if you can. Next month I plan to organize people around the Evertteville area, above Hildebrand Lock and Dam, to do some cleanups along the creeks leading to the Mon - before the spring rains washes litter down.

Hope this works!

WVU Students Help with Last Cleanup

( In some views, you need to click the headline above to see the full article).

This summer I have had a number of WVU students out on the river with me for cleanups. In the past I've concentrated on getting younger kids out, but they are hard to find in the summer. So, the WVU students, many with public service requirements for courses, have been on board this summer.

Last weekend was our last weekend. It's time to lay The Monongahela Monitor up at Mark's Marine Repair for the winter. We'll be doing some maintenance on her over the winter.

The photos show Josh Dyer, Andy Sheldon and Andrew Fergison near the Ruby McQuain park cleaning that area, and our final "catch" delivered to Walnut Street where the folks at the Solid Waste Authority haul it away.

Well, it's always sad to close down for the winter. We enjoyed meeting the volunteers we had out and we moved a lot of junk from the river and river banks out and to the dump. We kept the Morgantown harbor area pretty clean all summer, and The Monitor served us well.

This winter we'll be finishing work on two information kiosks that will be placed at the Ruby McQuain Park (at the boat launch ramp) and at Star City. We also plan to organize some roadside cleanups in the western part of the county, near creeks that run into the Mon. These will take place in late winter or early spring.

I hope you all keep warm this winter! Thanks for reading the blog.

Recent Cleanup with WVU Students

Brady Gasser and Emilee Ross of Sandusky, Ohio, were my crew on the Monongahela Monitor recently. They are WVU students who signed up through the university's Center for Civic Engagement to help the community.

Boy, did they. Both of these young people worked really hard. We began in the morning doing a quick once-over in the Morgantown harbor area. I had to caution Emilee not to spend too much time on the real small stuff along the Ruby Park. I knew our time would be better spent up above the dam where litter once caught behind the dam drifts along the shores.

Sure enough, we found lots of the usual plastic, Stryofoam and aluminum cans, lodged along the west bank. In all, we collected 10 big bags of litter and a couple tires.

By the afternoon we were pretty worn out. However, I took the crew up to the Morgantown Ordnance Works. Emilee had asked what the old smoke stacks in the distance were. Of course she was asking the wrong person, because I can't give a short answer on that. So I told the whole story of the heavy water project there back in the early part of WWII.

Emliee and Brady, thanks! You are two are great! By the way, Emilee is a nursing freshman; Brady is in political science and geography freshman.

Rain! Last swim?

With all the rain we are having, NOAA predicts that the river will go from 9.5 feet depth that we had last week in the channel to about 15 feet. At the "normal pool" level of 9.5 feet, 12,000 square feet of water per second goes through the dam. That's a lot. However, at 15 feet that rockets to about 34,000 square feet per second.

Lot's of water.

Well, I may have gotten my last swim of the summer in down at the dock on Sunday. I took some folks out for a trip on The Monongahela Monitor Saturday and it was so hot I didn't have much trouble convincing three of them to go overboard with me. They overcame their reluctance. I guess I understand that reluctance, but it's too bad. Anyway, those three are converts.

Then on Sunday, I went down by myself. I was trying to fix my stereo on the boat, with no success. It was hot, and after I'd determined that I was making no progress with the stereo, I jumped in. There were two or three boats from down around Pittsburgh at the dock (one was huge!) and several folks from those boats had jumped in, too.

Well, now it's raining, much cooler, and swimming in the Mon may be over for this year. I wish I had done more. There's something beautiful about jumping in the river, watching the green bubbles coming up as you rise with them to the surface from the cool, dark depth, or lying on the surface, in the peace of the river with the trees along the shore so green, and a kingfisher overhead, a dot of gray in the vastness of the sky.

Still Cleaning Up

Here's a Cardinal Flower (Lobelia Cardinalis). Saw several of these along the bank during the cleanup.

My river cleanup is continuing. Here's some of the latest. Pretty much the same as always, plastic, balls, cans and bottles. The area around the Morgantown Wharf District is quite clean now. This weekend I worked the area above the dam.




Before,and After on the deck of The Monongahela Monitor.






And, going through the lock at Morgantown, I took the photo below of the Corps of Engineers repair equipment. Some work is being done on the dam.


News: I have several WVU students signed up to work on river projects this fall. During the winter, we will be recruiting youth organizations from around the county to do litter cleanups on the roads (before it goes into the streams in the spring).

No Wake Zone in Morgantown

This article from The Dominion Post and the editorial below says it all. Thanks to everyone who helped, especially Mark Wise of our local parks department.

City OKs no-wake zone on Mon RIver

Ban will be enforced once buoys in place

BY AMANDA DePROSPERO
The Dominion Post

A new rule is making waves — or rather stopping them — on the Monongahela River along Morgantown’s riverfront park.
As soon as the buoys are in place, a no-wake zone will be in effect and will be enforceable for the section of river between Morgantown’s Lock and Dam and 500 feet below the Westover Bridge, said Lt. Jon Cogar with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR).
The WVDNR and the Morgantown Police Department will have the authority to enforce the idling no-wake zone, which means watercraft in that area can make no wake at all, he said.
Tim Terman, who spends many of his weekends cleaning up trash in the river, was one of the main forces behind the no-wake zone. He brought the proposal before Morgantown City Council, which passed the resolution April 19. The paperwork was then passed through the DNR.
“I’ve seen too many dangerous incidents on the river already, and at this point, there aren’t really that many boaters. But we’re seeing more kayaks, rowers, swimmers, and having in that mix boats running full throttle through the Wharf District presents a danger to everyone,” Terman said via email. “So, having a no-wake zone will slow boats — just from the Westover Bridge through the Wharf District, to the lock. It won’t be such a bother, really, for such a short distance. But we may have saved a life or prevented serious injury.”
In addition to protection for kayakers, swimmers, rowers and those on non-motorized boats, the no-wake zone will help protect the boats that are docked or in rented spaces at the Board of Park and Recreation Commissioners (BOPARC) docks in the Wharf District and riverfront park. Heavy wakes can jostle boats and injure boaters, he said.
Towboats, Terman said, aren’t a concern as they move very slowly through the water already.
“But boats with huge motors can come around the bend below the bridge and be upon a kayaker or swimmer very quickly,” he said. “And if the sun is in the operator’s eyes, there could be an accident.”
Jimmy King, WVU’s head rowing coach, said he supports the no-wake zone both for the rowing teams and any regular river users.
“Recreational use of the river has increased substantially in the four years that I have been coaching at WVU,” King said via email. “In addition to the fishermen and the rowers, we now commonly see tri-athletes swimming in the river, canoeists, kayakers and recreational boaters including those riding PWCs (personal watercrafts, such as waverunners). Whereas the lock and dam has always been a prime fishing area, the BOPARC docks have made the Wharf District a destination point for all.”
“I spoke to two yacht owners who were up here docking at the marina from around Pittsburgh,” Terman said. “They said they come up here to visit because it’s peaceful and quiet. So, a no-wake zone will help preserve that.”
BOPARC director Mark Wise could not be reached for comment in time for this report.

DOMINION POST Friday 12 August 2011:

EDITORIAL

A decision certain not to cause waves

No-wake zone on popular section of Monongahela River long overdue

A lot of boats can get rocked in the wake of some official resolutions. Not this one. As a matter of fact, a decision by Morgantown’s City Council last spring won’t cause a ripple. The resolution establishes a no-wake zone along a short span of the Monongahela River — from near the Westover Bridge to the Morgantown Lock and Dam. This decision is long overdue. Our chief concern is safety. WaveRunners and other kinds of fast-moving personal watercraft already don’t account for a lot of the river traffic in this area of the river. However, the numbers of kayakers, row boats, swimmers and fishermen are increasingly growing, and don’t have the means to move out of the way of dangerous waves and boats.
Also, not only is a no-wake zone good for recreational use of the river, but it also protects the shoreline and the boats moored at the public marina and dock near the city’s riverfront park. Though most boaters are considerate and take precautions not to swamp others, some don’t take responsibility for their wake and the damage it causes. And it’s not just that some wakes can dump people out onto the deck of their boats or in the water, but the potential exists for a collision to occur without a no-wake zone on a busy weekend. The Monongahela River’s shoreline is often subject to its own highs and lows — strong currents and occasional flooding. But as a rule the waves along its banks are generally soft and consistent in the area that’s been designated a no-wake zone. The harm to shorelines by the wakes of some boats is especially damaging in developed areas. This no-wake zone should also lend itself to increased visits to the marina in this area by non-motorized craft. There are miles and miles of the river where recreational boaters in powerful watercraft can range freely with wake-boarders and water-skiers in tow. This no-wake zone probably covers less than a mile of the river’s breadth. It’s not too much to ask that anyone wanting to embrace a calm outing on the river from the seat of a kayak or a canoe should be allowed to do so. As resolutions go, many are unenforceable or make no provision for enforcement. In this case take note: City Council gave both the police department and the Division of Natural Resources authority to enforce this rule. No-wake buoys should soon mark this zone on the river. Now, if we could just calm some of the traffic on land.