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.

Finally went swimming, lost my glasses....

Yesterday I decided to jump in the Mon. It was around 90 degrees, and I went down to the marina quickly after work. There was a strong storm approaching, according the the Internet radar and also announcements on the radio. I was determined to get a quick swim in before it hit.

I could see the dark clouds as I arrived at my boat, changed in to swimming attire, put on my face mask (better to see the cool bubbles with) and jumped overboard. As I came out, I could hear a loud noise across the river on the west side, so I climbed out. The wind was really blowing and I thought "tornado!" Sure seemed like one was approaching. Very strange sound in the trees across the river and everything was blowing around. I tried to secure what I could and to get my clothes back on quickly so I could get off the boat and to safety. But where were my $80 prescription sunglasses. My conclusion is that they are on the bottom of the river now. They are pretty light, and I think they were first to go....

Shucks.

Mayfly attack!

Well, it wasn't an attack, but that headline is sensational, and readers like a good sensation. That's what Jason and Sebastian got, along with mate Chris and I, when we were cleaning litter off the west bank above the Morgantown Dam Sunday.

We were poking around the shore where the litter had drifted up from behind the dam, and we disturbed their resting area on the leaves of trees along the shore. (click the photo for a closer look).

To see the mayflies in the closeup below, click it.

These bugs don't bother people, except for leaving their carcasses all over the place when they die. The lifespan of an adult mayfly can vary from just 30 minutes to one day depending on the species, says the Wikipedia article on these insects. They are very important in feeding fish.

I think our crew will remember this experience. The young men did a great job with us on The Monongahela Monitor, our pontoon boat. They worked hard.

Litter above the dam, along the east shore in particular, is as bad as I've ever seen it.

If I had three boats with three crews, I could get that cleaned up in a week. As it was, we were only able to pull in seven big bags of litter before it was too hot to be working, and we headed back down through the lock (the crew insisted on pulling out litter as we locked), then to Walnut Street to drop off our "catch" and then to the marina.

At left, Sebastian and Jason in the lock.


Jason and Sebastian are freshmen at Morgantown High School and were fulfilling some public service requirements for school.

I don't know who it was that came up with the idea of requiring public service of students, but I'd like to shake his or her hand. Our crew had an impact on the community (we did a real good job along the shore at the Ruby McQuain park) and they learned a lot, too. An of course, they got to steer the boat.
Thanks!