Plastic waste, hypodermic needles, and washed-up toys were just some of the items seen floating around Stockton waterways.”Really bad. A lot of junk floating in from everywhere,” resident Michelle Cunningham said. “And I don’t even know exactly where it’s coming from.”On Tuesday, boating docks appeared empty, and fishermen were nowhere to be found. Thomas Lathan is a local resident who said up until recently was frequently fishing in the waterways. Now, he and others are holding back until they are cleaned.” A lot of them stopped coming because you know, all this junk is in the water. I wouldn’t come out here on a boat until they clean it up,” Lathan said. Locals are calling for officials to act in removing the pileup, fearing this may have an impact on residents, animals, businesses and tourism. “People come out from out of town and when they see this, they might not come back,” Lathan said. Residents are also concerned that pileup from local homeless encampments may be adding to the issue. City officials say millions of pounds of garbage and debris are cleaned out from local waterways every year. Connie Cochran, the city’s community relations officer, said that while water cleanup is a multi-agency state jurisdiction, the city is holding weekly cleanups in an attempt to clear out the waterways closer to the city. However, Cochran says recent winds, rainstorms and high tides have been a challenge.”The tide brings everything up, sucks it out, and then brings it back in,” Cochran said. “We may go clean it and it’s going to look the same, maybe within a couple of hours.”To address this, the city is waiting on the delivery of a new vessel in May to hold additional cleanups. “We’ll have more control over getting out and doing the cleanup as needed rather than on a contractual basis,” Cochran said. The city said its goal is to address the waste buildup soon to keep the environment safe and boost the local economy. “It could be gorgeous. It could be really gorgeous,” Cunningham said. “They just need more people to care.”The city is asking the public to avoid disposing of any of their own garbage in the waterways when visiting. Anyone wanting to donate clothing and supplies to the local homeless community is asked to reach out or drop items off at shelters and homeless organizations that handle distributions and disposals in the area.
STOCKTON, Calif. —
Plastic waste, hypodermic needles, and washed-up toys were just some of the items seen floating around Stockton waterways.
“Really bad. A lot of junk floating in from everywhere,” resident Michelle Cunningham said. “And I don’t even know exactly where it’s coming from.”
On Tuesday, boating docks appeared empty, and fishermen were nowhere to be found.
Thomas Lathan is a local resident who said up until recently was frequently fishing in the waterways. Now, he and others are holding back until they are cleaned.
“A lot of them stopped coming because you know, all this junk is in the water. I wouldn’t come out here on a boat until they clean it up,” Lathan said.
Locals are calling for officials to act in removing the pileup, fearing this may have an impact on residents, animals, businesses and tourism.
“People come out from out of town and when they see this, they might not come back,” Lathan said.
Residents are also concerned that pileup from local homeless encampments may be adding to the issue.
City officials say millions of pounds of garbage and debris are cleaned out from local waterways every year.
Connie Cochran, the city’s community relations officer, said that while water cleanup is a multi-agency state jurisdiction, the city is holding weekly cleanups in an attempt to clear out the waterways closer to the city.
However, Cochran says recent winds, rainstorms and high tides have been a challenge.
“The tide brings everything up, sucks it out, and then brings it back in,” Cochran said. “We may go clean it and it’s going to look the same, maybe within a couple of hours.”
To address this, the city is waiting for the delivery of a new vessel in May to hold additional cleanups.
“We’ll have more control over getting out and doing the cleanup as needed rather than on a contractual basis,” Cochran said.
The city said its goal is to address the waste buildup soon to keep the environment safe and boost the local economy.
“It could be gorgeous. It could be really gorgeous,” Cunningham said. “They just need more people to care.”
The city is asking the public to avoid disposing of any of their own garbage in the waterways when visiting.
Anyone wanting to donate clothing and supplies to the local homeless community is asked to reach out or drop items off at shelters and homeless organizations that handle distributions and disposals in the area.
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