It's summer on the river

Hey, I know today is only May 26, but I declare it summer on the river!

We had some high water last week and the water got muddy, as it does in spring, but now it's clear green and you can see the little fishes (I don't know what they are, but there's a blue million of 'em). The trees along the banks are pretty dark green, not the yellow-green of spring, and yesterday evening I saw the first cedar waxwing in one.

I went down to the dock to look at the Monongahela Monitor at its marina berth, and everyone along the rail trail seemed friendly and smiling and the air was cool and a little hazy, boding a hot day. People were going to work; some just sitting on the benches already. A couple guys fishing at the Decker's Creek point.

The seasons are really amazing. Summer may be the best, because pretty soon, I'll be able to drop myself into the arms of the river and sink into its cool dark green enormity. Hey, you should come down with me and I'll show you how. Not until June though. The water's pretty cool yet.

May 15 Cleanup

We had a beautiful day for a river cleanup Saturday.

Great crew too. Ben Farley had a lot to say, as you'll see in the video. But his brother Rich was along and helped too, and also educated me about some river facts.


For example, Rich told me that along the Nile River, the ancient people only live on the east bank. The west side was reserved for the dead. Also, he said, the Celts believed rivers and water were magic because of how light reflected. The Ganges, I commented, is sacred. Something about a river that is magical. And, of course, there's Alph:

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

From Kubla Kahn, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Also vital parts of the crew were Rich and Michelle Farley and Garth Lindley. Thanks!

Last Sunday Ruth Donaldson and her Sunday School group and some parents came out for a cleanup trip on the Monongahela Monitor - in the rain!

I think everyone had a great time. I know I did. I had to keep a close watch on my young helmsmen, but I managed to capture a little video. Thanks, Ruth!

The Mon River Summit has come and gone, and I have to confess to being disappointed. It was difficult to listen, again, to how concerned the Corps of Engineers and all are about litter on the river, then to see everyone move right on to harangue about other issues.

It's my fault, I'm sure. Don Spencer of our City Council told me I need to attend all of the river meetings if I want to make progress. But I abhor meetings. I'm sure they do some good. But I somehow think that something will break, that there will be some philanthropist or sponsor who will want to help us get the litter off the river.

The river looks pretty good now. About one week after the terrible mess of the litter coming through the dam and into the Morgantown Wharf District.

No litter cleanup tonight, Friday, April 16

The litter situation is under control, so we don't need an emergency cleanup tonight. We did one last night, and our local parks department worked all day on the mess. So, we are good for the present. Thanks for all the interest and support.

Litter has been dealt with - for now

Yesterday, our a crew from our parks department in Morgantown spent hours cleaning up the east bank of the river from Walnut Street upriver past the Waterfront Place Wharf District. They did a bang-up job! Thanks! Ralph LaRue, the supervisor, was upset, too.

This morning I saw the WVU rowing teams out on the river practicing for their meet this weekend. That's always a beautiful scene. And because of BOPARC's effort, it was this morning.

Do you hear what I'm saying? We have a rowing team that will bring people from other states onto our river, and fans of both teams will be on the banks cheering. What kind of impression do we want them to take away when they see our river? A good one, of course, but that's going to take some hard discussion and planning and work and commitment.

Things are better now than in the past. For example, our parks department cleaned up the litter spill. That would not have happened years ago. And Richard Lockwood of the Corps of Engineers has expressed his regret about the incident.

Deepest apologies to you and all our Mon River Partners. Please know that we are sensitive to the issue of Drift and Debris on the Mon - especially at Morgantown - and would never intentionally flush debris through any of our dams.
Unfortunately we needed to set a bulkhead in the dam gate bay at Morgantown for safety purposes. This was related to an ongoing maintenance contract on our remote dam controls. The only way to set that bulkhead was to clear the gate bay.
While the outcome of that operation with respect to debris would have been the same no matter what, I think we owe it to you as our partner not to create a nasty "surprise". Clearly we did just that.
Hopefully you are aware that Harry Durinzi has retired and that Lockmaster Bob "Smitty" Smith has moved to backfill behind Harry. While Smitty is a highly skilled Lockmaster, we may not have passed to him the same level of partnering that we had developed with Harry. That failing is mine and I deeply apologize."

I will attend the Mon River Summit Monday and talk to all concerned to see what progress can be made on this issue.

Early this week the Corps of Engineers let litter through the Morgantown Dam, and this is the result as of Thursday morning, April 15.

(click the photos to see clearly).

A tragedy.

We had done a river cleanup Sunday, and we thought things were in pretty good condition along the river banks in Morgantown. Our next cleanup would take us above the dam. But now, it's an absolute mess. Just in time for spring. We were talking about when the black locust trees would bloom and how beautiful that would be along the river. But now...

Please watch the 1 minute slide-show. UPDATE: Ralph Larue's BOPARC crew has done a lot of work today, and much of this is gone. There's still more for a cleanup this evening, April 15. Morgantown Marina, by the railtrail Subway. 5 p.m. at the dock.


Well, we need some help here. I'm planning an emergency cleanup tonight, Thursday, April 15 and tomorrow, Friday April 16. Starting at the marina behind the Boathouse Bistro (near the Subway in the Wharf District). Please call me at 304 276-8306 if you can join the cleanup crew. Some of this has gone downstream, and someone also cleaned up an area near Decker's Creek. But it's still real bad. I have gloves, grabbers, bags and a boat. I need two to four people each evening. I should mention that someone has cleaned up the point above Decker's Creek since Wednesday evening. Thanks!

We need for the Corps to inform us when the debris behind the dam is going to be let go!