Dog River flooded with litter yet again

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Not only was there a recent flood of rain on Dog River, there was also a flood of trash.

"It shows trash pouring into the river," said Bruce Coldsmith, commenting on video taken from the river.

Coldsmith with the Dog River Clearwater Revival group said the litter in the river was some of the worst he has ever seen. Coldsmith said you can tell how dirty our streets are anytime there's a big rain.

"Whenever that happens, the litter that's been put out on the street gets washed into every tributary between the Bay and Schillinger Road," Coldsmith said.

Coldsmith said the group has raised money for a litter trap to be put into the river, but the group has run into a snag with the City of Mobile.

"We've been trying to partner with the city, and we raised a lot of money. We need to put in place a system to clean the trash out of there," Coldsmith said.

Coldsmith said before the trap can be bought, the city must agree to clean it. He said that agreement has yet to be made.  

 The Alabama Department of Environmental Management recently fined the city of Mobile more than $17,000 for storm water violations. Coldsmith said the public can still have a say, and make a difference.

"We have to as a community say we want to have a clean community," Coldsmith said.

He said Dog River needs at least two additional litter traps, but said that cannot begin to happen until an agreement on the first trap is made. 

Dog River video courtesy of Rob Nykvist.