From the Cañon City Daily Record (Charlotte Burroughs):
“This project focused on the area west of First Street on the north bank of the river,” said Rec. District Executive Director Jim Hoar. “It’s in conjunction with our new trail project, but it’s also our ongoing clean up of the river.”
As part of the efforts, the Rec. District will offer its annual Clean Up Green Up project on April 28, where numerous volunteers will do a lot of hand-on work.
“Each year in conjunction with Arkansas Headwaters Recreation District, the Outfitters and the Division of Wildlife, we try to identify hazards in the Arkansas River within our community, clear from MacKenzie all the way up to Grape Creek,” Hoar said. “Our focus was on the east side of the Fremont Ditch Diversion Dam earlier in the year and this second project focused around the Black Hills Clark Power Station. It was very successful. We’re 99 percent done. We actually removed 23,000 pounds of scrap iron, steel, railroad rails, bridge beams, old pipeline valves and all sorts of metals and debris from the river.” In addition, crews removed an old bridge deck that weighed 33,000 pounds. With 98 percent being recycled, the materials were put in proper places.
“The whole focus was to make the river cleaner, safer and better looking,” Hoar said. “It’s something in the past that many generations have taken for granted. Now we’re realizing the importance of our river for drinking water, recreational and agricultural uses.”
More Arkansas River basin coverage here.
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