July 2, 2003
Divers clear water waste
Boardman River Clean-Up hauls up car parts, signs, tractor tire
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Pieces of history were dredged from the Boardman River Saturday during the Ninth Annual Boardman River Clean-Up.
Scuba divers scouring the bottom of the river from the fish weir toward West Grand Traverse Bay found many interesting items to add to the trash: a Model T steering wheel, car parts, old signs, a tractor tire and posts.
"Right behind the old Ford dealership there were a lot of car parts pulled out of the river," said Mark Nadolski, chair of the Traverse Area Association of Realtors Environmental Committee. "Most of the trash was 30-40 years old and some from the 1920s."
The Traverse Area Association of Realtors' Environmental Committee sponsors the clean up every year, working each year through one of seven sections along the Boardman River. Two years ago, they started the cycle again returning to sections volunteer divers have previously cleaned.
Even after one cleaning, however, the volume of trash removed each time - this year totaling two full dumpster loads - stays about the same.
"That section of the river, since the water dropped, as the current gets stronger it scours the silt off and there's more to find," Nadolski added. "We're amazed at what we find every year."
The Boardman River clean up this year drew 27 volunteer divers and more than 70 support people, most of whom are area realtors or associates. Working in a gentle drizzle, the divers filled basket after basket of trash, which volunteers pulled onto shore and dumped into wheelbarrows. Load by load by load, the trash piled up in the dumpsters and the river was cleaned up.
"I wanted to help out just because it is so dirty and I don't think that people should litter," said Stephanie Piccirilli, 13, of Traverse City, who helped on the shore by hauling trash to the dumpsters. "I snorkel and I want to learn how to dive because then I can go down and get a lot of the cool stuff."
Divers from the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department participate every year, part of their training exercises. Scuba divers from area scuba shops also help out, including divers from Scuba North and Great Lakes Scuba. Word of the clean up also travels through an informal divers network around the state, said Gordon Chapman of Grand Haven. Chapman and his wife, Cindy, and son, Alex, 13, all dove and helped pick up trash throughout the day Saturday.
"I was surprised by how much there was considering how long they've been doing it," said Chapman, who has a cabin in Mesick.
Kara O'Keefe of Traverse City has been helping with the Boardman River Clean Up for seven years. Not a diver herself, she spends the day every year helping divers dispose of their finds.
"I grew up on West Bay and like to see it clean for the kids," O'Keefe noted. "The first year, it was unbelievable how much stuff we found, sinks, toilets, a gun. Last year they found a complete car, in parts."
Doing her part to help preserve the environment motivated Emily Davey, Piccirilli's mother, to attend the event. A scuba diver, she helped on shore throughout the day, living her philosophy of environmental stewardship.
"Anytime we go anywhere we're always cleaning up, on a trail or in the water," Davey said. "It's a beautiful place and we want to keep it beautiful."