SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - A “trash boom” has helped keep cans, plastic bottles and other trash from marring the pond at Sertoma Park in Sioux City.
The boom was installed about two weeks ago as part of a pilot project to clean up the pond, according to the Sioux City Journal (https://bit.ly/1holf3G ). The trash normally spills out of a 64-inch-diameter pipe that carries stormwater away from area businesses and residences.
On Tuesday in honor of Earth Day, city workers scooped up debris that had collected behind the boom.
“Once we started seeing the amount of trash - because you can’t see it from the interstate - it was just awful,” said Desiree McCaslen, a water treatment manager who is heading the project.
The pond is a stormwater retention site, and its contents bleed into the Missouri River.
The yellow boom spans one small corner of the pond, and a mesh net extends from the floating boom to the pond’s bottom and corrals the trash in one small area. Jebro Inc., a Sioux City oil collection and recycling company, paid for the trash boom and a sign that describes the problems caused by trash.
Ken Hessenius, an environmental program supervisor at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said the trash boom will do more than rid the pond of unsightly trash. By keeping the garbage out, the city will prevent it from sinking to the bottom and piling up.
“There are just all kinds of problems with plastic because it doesn’t break down as quickly or easily,” Hessenius said. “And it becomes virtually impossible to collect that stuff once it’s in there.”
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Information from: Sioux City Journal, https://www.siouxcityjournal.com
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