Low river levels have been bad for barges, boaters and water supplies but could be a blessing this weekend. For an example of how the drought has affect waterways - Thursday the Mississippi stood at 3.7 feet at Lock and Dam 15. A foot above the historic low for the same day of 2.7 feet. These levels are going to help hundreds take cleaning to the extreme Saturday in the annual Xstream Cleanup.
"Exposed pieces of, they look like wood, but they're metal whatever they are," said Brian Ritter, Nahant Marsh facilitator. That's only the start of it. How about outlet covers, a two-by-four, glass and plastic bottles galore, even a TV. Ritter has been the Nahant Marsh site coordinator for the Xstream Cleanup for the last five years and once again he's ready to get the garbage out of there.
Thursday Ritter looked out at the water and he says seeing a lack there of in many spots is a positive. "The water level is the lowest we've seen it in years and that's going to help us. This is probably the only advantage of the drought this year," said Ritter.
Not only will it allow volunteers to reach more areas that in years past were underwater or too muddy, they'll also be able to see more of the mess. At 3.7 feet Thursday the Mississippi was 1.5 feet below normal and a whopping 6.4 feet lower than this time last year. Similar situations up and down the river are helping crews collect big time. "We were on our way between Dubuque and the Quad Cities and a tow boat captain called and said hey there's a 5th wheel trailer, a huge 35-40 foot camper, so we went over and picked it up," said Chad Pregracke, president and found of Living Lands & Waters.
And with more people joining in it could shape up to be the biggest cleanup yet.
Volunteers will be at 46 cleanup sites in Scott and Rock Island Counties for three hours Saturday morning starting at 8:30.
