Omaha Clean Sweep a Success!

This was Missouri River Relief's 4th clean-up in the Omaha area.  Last year we enjoyed a fun and successful clean-up just before the monumental flooding, now known as the "Great Flood of 2011".

Together with our community clean-up partners and volunteers like you, we were able to remove 5.2 tons of trash from the banks of the river!

On Saturday, September 22, 208 volunteers showed up at NP Dodge Park to donate a few hours of their time to beautify and help clean the Missouri River.  Nebraska Game and Parks biologists Gerald Mestl and Josh Wilhelm brought their huge boats to help haul volunteers.

We had to move the cleanup to NP Dodge this year due to extremely low river levels and tons of sand that had silted in the Lewis & Clark Marina in downtown Omaha.  NP Dodge Park is more than 10 miles North of downtown Omaha, and our scout crews were having trouble finding loads of trash along the shoreline, as is often most prevalent downstream of any big city.  On top of that, the weeds on the banks were high up, way over our heads!  Where would we take 200+ volunteers?   

Regardless, the show must go on right?  So we scouted 10 miles of the river, flagging any site that looked people friendly, even if there wasn't much trash, we could only hope that the volunteers would enjoy hanging out on the bank of the river on such a beautiful day.  Despite not seeing the trash, we knew it was there.  Much of what we saw were big tanks, barrels and docks that had been ripped apart and sent downstream after last year's monumental flood.

On Thursday, we had hooked up with a great group of volunteers from Mutual of Omaha and cleaned up a stretch of river just above the Narrows River Park.  In just a few hours, the crew had cleaned up 1 ton of trash to include a boat load of tires!  So that was our first clue, that there was indeed an assortment of garbage littering the banks of the Big Muddy, even if we were upstream of Omaha.

Well the big day arrived, and the weather was gorgeous!  Craig Howell from Mayor Suttle's office and their amazing Americorps Vista volunteers really saved the day.  They efficiently got registration set up, and then broke down in preparation for lunch which at the last minute had been switched to Sam & Louie's Pizza!  Thanks to Craig's hard work, we were able to get lunch for the hundreds of volunteers donated, which really helps keep Missouri River Relief's costs down. 

Then the volunteers started to arrive, our crew got the boat ramp ready with trash bags, tools, and our safety & dispatch areas ready, the boat drivers had a meeting, and then it was time to start loading volunteers in boats.  Before you know it, we had boat load after boat load of volunteers going out on the river.  Over half of the people I talked to in my boat had never been on the river before, some didn't really know what to expect, but after educating the volunteers about what we were doing out there, and why it is so important, I sensed that all of the volunteers had a really good time crawling around on the banks of the Big Muddy.

After bringing the volunteers back for lunch just a couple hours later, part of our lunch program is the "Git that Garbage" Trash Contest!  As the volunteers happily finished their pizza, Jennifer Morrel from the National Park Service gave a great talk about the animals of the Missouri River, and showed some beautiful otter & beaver pelts.  Then it was time to show off our trash treasures from the day.  We were so happy to see the excitement in the kids eyes as they proudly showed off their animal finds from the morning, and other odd trash treasures.  Check out our entire trash tally to include the Trash Contest entries below!

 

The rest of the afternoon, we finished loading all of the trash onto a barge donated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  On Friday, we had set up empty dumpsters donated by Waste Management & Remelt Industries for landfill & scrap metal trash.  We had a separate pile for tires which was being picked up on Monday from the Bridgestone "One Team One Planet" program, and unfortunately, we had a fairly large pile of hazardous waste chemical jugs and barrels to deal with too.  The Army Corps guys helped us off load all of it on Monday, and took the hazardous waste and dozen blue & white 55-gallon barrels.  They were such a huge help!

We certainly couldn't have done it without the help of all of our sponsors, partners & volunteers.  Thank you Omaha/Council Bluffs!

 Here's the results from a successful day of cleaning up the banks of the Missouri River:

Omaha Missouri River Cleanup

NP Dodge Park, Omaha, NE

September 22^nd, 2012

Total Volunteers: 208

MRR Crew:  15

Boats:  8  (5 Missouri River Relief, 2 Nebraska Game & Parks, 1 Army Corps of Engineers)

River Miles:  8 Missouri River miles (624-632)

River Level: 15.42 ft  (Omaha Missouri River Gage)

Tires: 58  (1 ton)

Landfill Tonnage:  2.7 tons 

Scrap Metal: 1.5 tons

Total Tonnage:  5.2 Tons!

Groups & Agencies Involved:  Missouri River Relief, Mayor’s Suttle's Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Back to the River, Captain Planet Foundation, Constellation Energy, Gallup, Inc., Northern Natural Gas, Sam & Louie’s Pizza, Harrah’s, Bridgestone "One Team One Planet", City of Council Bluffs, IA, City of Omaha, NE, Country Inn & Suites, Green Omaha Coalition, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, Pottawattamie County Conservation, Remelt Industries, Waste Management, Big Muddy Urban Farm, G4S, Boy Scout Troop 510, Americorps Vista, Leo Club, LDS Mormon Church, Keep Iowa Beautiful and the National Park Service

Names of River Teams:  River Rats, Griffindoor, King Cobra, Stormin’ Mormons, Big Brown, The Saber, Tigers, Slimeballs, Kick Butt, Mudders, Broncos, Asian Carp, G4S, Rip Rap

Trash Tally!!!!

185 Bags of Trash

58 Tires

18 Chunks O’ Styrofoam

3 Coolers

6 – 5 gallon Plastic Buckets

18  - 55 gallon Plastic Barrels

3 – 55 gallon Metal Drums

1 – 25 gallon Metal Drum

3 Refrigerators

1 Refrigerator Door

1 Ice Dispenser

5 Propane Tanks

1 Car Seat

1 ½ Bed Springs

3 ½ Bed Frames

2 Couch Cushions

6 Chairs

1 Picnic Table

Shelves

4 Counter Tops

2 Chaise Lounge Chairs

1 Car Door

2 Car Mats

5 pieces of Carpet

1 set of Cabinet Doors

20 ft. of plastic Corrugated Roofing

20 ft. of 1 ½ inch Plastic Pipe

2 ½ Doors

30 ft. of Wiring Conduit

1 plastic Step Ladder

1 - 4’x8’ wooden Lattice

1 – 10’x20’ Dock

1 glass Window

2 ft. piece of an I-beam

400 lbs of assorted Metal

120 ft. of 1-inch Cable

100 lbs of Rebar

1 – 5 ft. Pipe

1 – 4ft. Metal Cable

1 BBQ Grill

4 TVs

1 Fishing Pole

1 Tarp

3 – 250 gallon square Plastic Tanks with cage & spout (2 with purple ink type liquid)

1 – 30 gallon Trash Can

1 – 500 gallon Metal Diesel Tank

1 Buoy

1 – 5 gallon Metal Kerosine Can

Trash Contest Entries!!! (winners in bold)

Biggest Trash:

1 bright blue Chunk O’ Styrofoam

1 part of a Bed Frame

1 fiberglass corrugated Roof

Most Artistic Trash

1 small silver Christmas Ornament

1 tiny glittery Styrofoam Ball

1 Bike Spoke decorated with Plastic Bags

1 Metal Hubcap

½ inch Metal Wire

Wierdest Trash

1 weird looking blond lady Plush Doll

1 Spongebob Wind-up Doll

1 plush Elmo Doll

1 Blow-up Can of Pork & Beans

Most Fashionable Trash

1 dirty Rag

1 grey Tank Top

1 pair of dirty Socks

1 white lacey Bra

1 size-11 High Heel Shoe

Oldest Trash

1 large Light Bulb

1 car window crank Metal Gear

1 – 5 gallon Metal Bucket Lid

Most Useful Trash

1 large Light Bulb

1 Exercise Sign

1 “No Parking” in Picnic Area Sign

1 YMCA “Parking” Sign

1 Basket Ball

1 Soccer Ball

1 Cooler

Best Animal Find

1 Goose Head Decoy

1 Duck Butt Decoy

1 Full Duck Decoy

1 pink Flamingo

1 wooden Pig-shaped Cuttingboard

1 Feather

1 Gar Skin

Best Darned Find of the Day

A 2-headed Dragon


It was a long & tiring, but ever so fulfilling day... as River Relief crew dog, Saffron can attest to.

Omaha Trash Tally!

Omaha-Council Bluffs Missouri River Clean-up

Riverfront Marina - Narrows River Park

April 30, 2011

Total Volunteers:  94
MRR Crew:  18
Boats: 8 (4 Missouri River Relief, 2 Nebraska Game & Parks, 1 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1 U.S. Coast Guard)
River Miles:  6 miles
River Level: 25 ft
Tires: 44 (.77 tons)
Landfill Tonnage:  3.96 tons
Scrap Metal:  1.1 tons
Total Tonnage:  5.83 Tons

Groups & Agencies Involved:  Missouri River Relief, ConAgra Foods, Lamp Rynearson & Associates, Gallup University Green Team, Stalnacker MC, Union Pacific, Nebraska Game & Parks, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, Coram Deo Church, Council Bluffs Public Works, National Park Service, River Town String Band

Names of River Teams:  The River Dogs, Blue Flamingos, MRR Tiger Team, The Shingles, Team Awesome, Team Tardy

Trash Tally!!!!
148 Bags of Trash
44 Tires
37 Chunks of Styrofoam
10 – 5 gallon Plastic Buckets
3 – 30 gallon Metal Drums
2 – 55 gallon Plastic Barrels
5 Coolers
2 Lids
1 Bicycle Wheel
1 Smoker Lid
1 plush Monkey
1 embroidered Pillow
4 Camp Stoves
1 Dog Crate
3 Coolers
1 Microwave
1 Oven Door
12 pieces of Carpet
1 Boxspring
½ of a Couch
6 ½ Chairs
2 Shopping Carts
2 Propane Tanks
1 Car Battery
1 Hammer
2 Hatchets
1 Dog Crate
7 Rubbermaid Tubs
1 Car Bench Seat
1 Tin Roof
1 Vent
20 bags of Shingles
Duct Work
1 Bird Cage
1 Colgate Toothpaste Tube
enough Clothes for 3 outfits
3 Strollers
1 Tennis Racket
1 Frying Pan
1 High-heeled Shoe
1 TV Screen
1 Tool Box
1 Suitcase
1 Stadium Seat
1 Spongebob
1 Snorkel
1 Saw Blade
11 Tents
20 Tarps
4 Sleeping Bags
50 ft of Rebar
1 Shovel
145 Poles
200 feet of Cable with the copper stripped out
1 Welder’s Hammer
1 unopened bag of Fruity Pebbles
1 Toy Gun
1 plastic light-up Angel
1 Railroad Spike
1 Baby Doll, no head
1 leopard patterned Bench Topper
1 rusty Bell
1 rusty Chain
1 GPS Cache, Kitty in a Bottle
1 palm-sized ceramic Flower Plate
2 little glass Perfume Bottles
1 women’s 1920s Hat
1 rusty Electric Razor
1 Lunch Box/Cooler
1 home-made Bow and Arrow
1 home-made fishing pole

Upriver to Omaha!

Omaha-Council Bluffs Missouri River Clean-up

Riverfront Marina - Narrows River Park

April 30, 2011

text by Steve Schnarr, photos by Steve Schnarr & Vicki Richmond

For full results report, go to http://www.riverrelief.org/event/omaha-council-bluffs-clean-up-2011/

Click here to see more photos.

We headed upriver on Thursday, April 28 to begin a string of clean-ups for a week and a half. First, we’d be taking on Omaha-Council Bluffs. After wrapping that up, we’d be going to the Missouri National Recreational River near Gayville, SD, to help the National Park Service clean-up an old farm dump for a couple days. Then we were splitting up crews and doing a cleanup in the Siouxland area as well as helping Yankton with their annual event.

We drove straight to the Western Historic Trails Center in Council Bluffs to set up camp for the weekend. We camped in a beautiful stand of cottonwoods on the river side of the levee just a short walk from the river. Dave Stous drove up from KC and met us at the site, helping us throw up our Flying Nun kitchen tent and gather wood.

Because it was Racin’ Dave’s birthday, we headed into the Old Market area looking for a good steak. We found them, but were shocked when we saw the prices on the menu. In typical Racin’ style, though….price was no object. Sombra even got a really good bone out of the deal…

A Boat Full of “Dignitaries”
We got our boats in the water in the morning, and headed downstream to meet our first passengers of the weekend at the Riverfront Marina near the Qwest Center. We were taking the mayors from each town as well as the Colonel from the Omaha District Corps of Engineers out on the river (as well as our partner Jolene Hulsing from the Corps). Our second boat took out some local media as well.



We showed everyone what we would be working on the next day – some of the abandoned camps you could see from the river and debris scattered by the 2010 floods. But the main topic of conversation was the high river levels and what predictions were for the spring and summer. Because of the late, cool spring the Corps had just revised their runoff predictions and were in the process of ramping up releases from upriver dams to make room for more mountain snowmelt. Any major rainfall in the James or Big Sioux Rivers is likely to make things dicey down in Omaha.

Prairie Wind
As we headed back to the marina, the wind really started to kick in. As we began our scout in the afternoon, it got worse. One stretch just up from the I-80 bridge became a maelstrom with 3 – 4 foot waves rolling upstream. Anthony and Jody stayed at camp to keep an eye on the Nun, which was pulling stakes and loosening cords. The wind kept up until late evening and rolled throughout the cleanup. It wasn’t til Saturday evening that it really let up, although we’d be battling prairie wind the rest of the week.

Crews arrive
Before and after the scout, crews continued to arrive. Brady, Mel and the Franks rolled up with a boat. Jeanie and Jonesy showed up and immediately Jeanie whipped the kitchen into shape. Each clean-up we have a “Food Angel” who is in charge of the kitchen. Jeanie is the original and best Food Angel on the bench. She pre-cooks everything to make preparation simple and easy. And completely revamped our kitchen set-up to fight the wind. We had two guys manning the stove to relight it everytime a gust puffed it out. David Richter, Bill Fessler, Larry Shepard, Vicki Richmond and the Dewitte family rolled in to beef up the crew.

The Clean-up
A couple of our boats needed to be put in at the Narrows River Ramp, so several vehicles headed up that way. Only to find the (mostly flooded) ramp blocked by a massive tree. It took some serious creative wrangling to get it out of there, but that’s why we’ve got Racin Dave and Indi.



The rest of the crew set up registration and dispatch at the Marina, boats arrived and the game was on. We were treated to some really great Americana tunes by the River Town String Band (who also stuck around for lunch – thank you guys!!!) Volunteers trickled in nice and easy and we got them right out on the river. We had lots of great groups, from Gallup Green Team, Corum Deo Church, Stalnaker MC and Lamp Rynearson & Assoc. A crew of ConAgra Foods employees headed by van to a landsite under the I-80 bridge where they quickly created a huge pile of trash by the river.

After all the boats were out, we pieced together a crew of River Relief diehards to tackle what became known as the Mansion Camp – an abandoned tent/tarp complex on the side of the river that had been flooded last year and strewn throughout the woods. When those guys made it back, they went straight for the hand-washing station.

After several hours of hard work, everyone returned to the marina for lunch and the trash contest.

Here’s the entry for the “Most Fashionable Trash”:



And here’s the “Best Darn Find of the Day”:



Then the trash haul was on.


This was Indi’s first time hauling trash, and everyone was extremely impressed with his boat handling skills in the crazy wind. (He often gets stuck running a skid steer at the ramp). We were lucky that Council Bluffs Public Works showed up with a front-end loader. I didn’t catch the operator’s name, but he stuck around to the very end and was amazed at all the work the volunteers did. (Quote of the Day: You guys came all the way from Missouri to clean our river?)

We all returned to camp, exhausted but smiling. And the wind finally died down. We gathered around the campfire and exchanged stories from the day.

On to the next clean-up!!!!

Tally Ho in the Big O!

Omaha & Council Bluffs Missouri River Clean-up
September 22, 2007
Riverfront Marina at Lewis & Clark Landing

We had another amazing weekend working in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area for our second Missouri River cleanup in those wonderful river towns. Watch this space for more stories and pictures of the event, but here are the results from the day.

Thanks to everyone who helped out (the list is long....), but especially the Army Corps of Engineers, Back to the River, Inc., the National Park Service and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. All the trash from the day was collected on an Army Corps of Engineers barge brought down the river for the occasion.

Total Volunteers: 281
River Relief Core Crew: 19
River Miles: 15 (river mile 610-625, both banks)
Tons of Landfill Trash: 5.4 tons
Tons of Scrap Metal: 1.29 tons
Tires: 20
Number of Boats: 15 (US Army Corps of Engineers-2; Nebraska Game & Parks Commission-6; Missouri River Relief-4; Iowa Department of Natural Resources-1; National Park Service-1; Izaac Walton League-1)
Groups Represented: Boy Scout Troops 3572, 430 & 494, CASS Program of Iowa Western Community College, Izaac Walton League.
Names of Volunteer Crews: “Spanish”, “Red Hot Chili Lobsters”, “Holy Cross”, “Ballers”, “Troop 3572”, “McCarty 5”, “Trash Pirates”, “Yellow”, “Dirty Dozen”, “River Beavers”, “Troop 494”, “Flaming Dragons”, “Pink Salamanders”, “Air Force 1”, “Boy Scouts”

Partial List of Trash

Large Trash Bags
(several required
5-8 people to lift) 233
Wheel Chair
(Excellent Condition) 1
Tent with Mattress 1
55 gallon plastic barrels 7
Lawn Mower Decks 2
Tires 15
Fence Posts 2
Pieces of Carpet 6
Blankets 2
Car Battery 2
Steam Camp Heater 1
Safe 1
Coolers 1
Wooden Door Slab 1
Tarps 3
Baby Stroller (no baby) 1
Wad of Insulation 1
Mesh Fence 30ft
PVC Pipe 60ft
Tire Pieces 4
Metal Tent Poles 18
Styrofoam Chunks 12
Metal Stand 1
Rubber Hose 1
Large Plastic Disc’s 5
Frying Pan 1
Sign 1
Cooking Pot 1
Bike Tires 5
Fire Extinguisher 1
Truck Parts 1
Basket Balls 2
Scrap Metal 23
Milk Crates 2
Wire Cable 25ft
Kickstand 1
Propane Tanks 3
Wheelchair Arm 1
Chairs 11 1/2
Lazy Boy Metal 1
Bicycles 9
Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink 1
Tire Rims 5
Exhaust Pipes/Mufflers 3
Shovel 1
Refrigerators 2
55 Gallon Metal Barrels 5
Carpet Pads 2
Metal Springs 5
Fishing Table 1
Metal Grill 7
Baseballs 10
Large Nylon Tents 2
Sleeping Bag 1
5 Gallon Buckets 4
Large Banner 4
Plastic Ornamental
Tree w/Stand- 1
Mattress’ 2
Plastic Trash Can 1
Plastic 100 Gallon
Chemical Tank (broken) 1
Tables 2
Electrical Conducters 2
Stripped Electrical Cable 100ft
Plastic Cafeteria Tray 1
Full Bud Light 1
Propane tank with written message: “This property guarded by unfriendly pets”
½ of a Cooler
Large Cardboard Spool

Video from Omaha!

Our board member David Richter did this little video of shots from our Sept. 22 Clean-up in Omaha, NE. It's fun, check it out!